The 9 Deadly Legends
by Giorgio Tsoukalos Clone
Summary: This is the story of an adventuring guild named Aesir's Edge under the employ of the Demacian royalty. Tasked with protecting Runeterra and it's people from forces that wish to do her harm, they'll travel across foreign lands while making new friends and enemies. What mysteries and challenges await our eager heroes as they rise to meet it head on? Their tale begins! A/U Story.
1. Prologue

**The 9 Deadly Legends**

 **Prologue: Astral Century and the New Dawn**

 **Theme: The Astral Century/ (All in Your Mind by Magicxbeats: watch?v=utDd-1FJTiI )**

 _Few can make the claim to be legend or to have been born into legend but true legends are forged not created and through actions and arduous trials can be acknowledge as such._

 _"Quote from Mage Lord Urom"_

 **It's still largely unknown about how the Astral Century came to an end or what prevented humanity and the other denizens of Earth from facing total extinction by the hands of beings that defied mortal comprehension or worse themselves. Intervention by a divine being or forefathers realizing the folly of their ways? All of it remains a mystery to scientist and scholars far and wide.**

 **War was an integral part and way of life for the provinces. Whether it was for expansion, fighting over resources or simply struggling to survive from whatever force that threatened destruction and annihilation. Only the strong would prosper and the weak would perish into obscurity. Sinister agents of darkness used the constant strife between the continents to manipulate and cause further schism within the infrastructure of Azaroth, Demacia and Noxus. Realizing that they were far too great a threat to ignore, the three major continents entered into an uneasy truce in order to face their mutual enemy. While there was still in fighting between the factions, once flaring hostilities turned into a slow but rapidly growing trust and then into steadfast allies, especially between Demacia and Azaroth.**

 **With the looming threat of the Darklings growing ever more imminent, the provinces construed a plan that would not only effectively combat the murderous race but allow their forces to concentrate on where they were needed the most. This is what led to the creation of guilds. Some speculate whether or not this idea was a good one the reason being that some of the guilds operate with their own agenda and to further their own ends. Not all however. There are plenty that work toward fighting and eventually wiping out the Darkling threat for good. One guild in particular, led by a young Azuma shinobi and his best friend, a worgen from the Greymane lineage, would be a few out of the many guilds to carry out such a task. Unknown to the two and their friends within the guild, they'd have a massive part to play in the events that were to unfold in Runeterra and Earth as a whole.**

 **With this, begins the tale of the 9 Deadly Legends!**

 **A** **uthor's Note: Just a little quick excerpt from me. Any music, or references, (mainly references since I'll be making heavy use of those) go to their r** **espective owners! That is all..**


	2. A new dank err adventure

**Chapter 1: A new dank, err, adventure that's all shiny and ooers!**

 **Summary of Chapter 1: Aesir's Edge gets a contract from the King. What was suppose to be a simple mop up of Darklings terrorizing a neighboring village in the outskirts of Runeterra City turns into something much bigger.**

 _" This world is beautiful even with the constant turmoil in it. Seeing these people press on despite all that is beauty in itself. That's why I want to protect this world and the people in it. "_

 _"Quote from Aesir's Edge Hero Kai'Sa or Kisala Shiruma"_

 **Demacia Province: Runeterra City/ Royal Commons District**

Runeterra City, the biggest city in the province of Demacia and one of the few havens for travelers. It's also one out of the four major trading hubs for most big shot corporations so there was always a constant flow of traffic, especially during the afternoons. Being the throne city for the royal family and main concentration of Demacian military, there wasn't much that went on in the capital as far as trouble was concerned. If there was any then it was dealt with before it had the potential to cause major publicity. As a whole, the city was a rather peaceful place to settle down in. This was mostly due to the current king Jarvan IV Piproxu and his just rule. The Piproxu have always had a long history of benevolent rule, dating back to the first king and founder of Runeterra City, Tiber Piproxu. Some provinces took this as weakness and tried to exploit the perceived weakness in many ways. As quick as they were to try, Jarvan was quicker to show them the error of their ways. While absolutely great to his people, he was a shrewd diplomat, brilliant tactician and a powerful warrior on the battlefield when the time called for it. It's why he's garnered a lot of respect from not only his people but allies and foe a like.

It was rather quiet this morning. A few people here and there could be seen walking the streets and going to wherever they needed to be.

 _"It'd pick up by sunrise, that's when everything usually starts getting busy."_ Is what one man in particular thought to himself as he walked down the steep sidewalk with both hands behind the back of his head in what looked to be the direction of the palace.

From a random passerby's perspective, he was an African American male, who looked to be in his early 20s. While he wasn't bald, he had short hair that you could tell was professionally cut. He had a small scar over his right eye. An unwanted souvenir he had gotten as a kid. He yawned as his yellow irises lazily scanned the area around him as he walked. From further observation, he looked to be decked out in futuristic black armor. White glowing lines could be seen eminating from certain parts of the armor, mainly the shoulders, legs, parts of the torso and arms. A scarf was wrapped snuggling around his neck while a thick strand of it hung near the ground as if it was suspended by air. Nestled between folds in the scarf sat the sheathe of a katana. While no one but he would be able to guess where it originated from, it looked highly expensive given the ornate design of the tech.

Irvine Aesir Stratos was his name. Current Grand Master of the Azuma Ninja Clan and leader of the guild Aesir's Edge that he co-founded with his best friend Alex. In his own words, he never intended to assume the mantle of both. One was brought about due to circumstance while the latter, he couldn't really give any good reasoning other than Alex constantly bugging him about it until he caved in. The former, he didn't even know where to begin each time he told people the story. He was an orphan when they found him. Why his master, Shiunsai Azuma decided to take him from the burning wreckage of his home town was still a mystery to him. He still remembered the words he told him on that faithful day.

 _"Kid it'd be a waste for you to die here. If you come with me, I can promise to make you into something much more, temper you into something far greater. If it's vengeance you seek then I can whole heartedly grant you the tools to make it so. Think about it? Don't you wish there was something you could have done to protect your town? If you follow me, I can guarantee you that something like this won't ever happen again. The choice is yours young one. If you feel it's not something that you wish to undertake then I'll take my leave but I think we both know what your answer will be."_

He had told him. At the time, he did desire to get back at his parents killers as well as get due justice for the other townfolk. He was on good terms with a lot of them. If this man could grant him the means to obtain strength then it'd be foolish to turn him down. It was either that or be left here to rot or be killed by any of those people who stayed behind that the ninja didn't dispose of. He could have taken his chances and made his way to the royal capital but the desire for retribution would have eaten away at his soul the longer it was allowed to fester. He accepted his offer. While it took time for the Ionian village to warm up to a new comer, especially a foreigner, he was well received by Shiunsai's 4 foster kids and people he'd come to regard as family. Akane, Ayame, Rikimaru and Tatsumaru. He had an actual older blood son but he left due to a disagreement and formed his own clan. As time went by and his training progressed, he gradually lost his desire for vengeance and what was once anger, was replaced with temperance and discipline. It was remarkable how well the boy had took in everything. If he kept it up, he'd soon rival both his older brother and sister and take the place of the late Tatsumaru who betrayed the clan due to a myriad of happenings. It was through the actions of both Ayame and Rikimaru that they ultimately prevented the clan's destruction by the Burning Dawn and he. It was why his master had pushed him to fill in the void that he left if the clan were to survive. While Irvine desired nothing more than to do just that, the sound plan came to an absolute stand still once he showed up. Until this day, he still thinks it was a mistake taking him in. Muro.

 _"There was something always off about him, like something was out of place."_ He had always told himself.

Yes, Muro, or Kayn, (is what he goes by now) would be the primary cause of the deaths of his master Shiunsai, Rikimaru and Ayame as well as half the village. The only ones to survive were himself, his younger foster sister Akane and some of the villagers. It was him who gave him the scar that now made permanent residence on his features. Originally he wanted to hunt him down. Give in to his baser need for vengeance again but his master, told him not to pursue Kayn. He'd only end up sharing a grave along with them as he was. He was needed at the village, especially during such a dire hour. The villagers had grown to respect the boy since he first set foot there. That's why he told him, that they'd look to him and Akane for guidance and leadership now that he'd no longer be able to. They were the only ones capable. He also made the point that if something were to happen to him while searching for Kayn, Akane would be the only surviving Azuma ninja, excluding the villagers. They both agreed that they didn't want her facing that kind of pain. Tatsumaru's betrayal was bad enough but losing the only family she had left wasn't an option and she wouldn't be able to manage the village on her own.

He was reluctant but readily pushed it aside. Shiunsai always told him that's what he liked about him as he watched him grow. Always decisive, especially in times of need. He owed a lot to him, the man that he regarded as the closest thing he had to a father so it's why he honored his last wish. After Shiunsai, Ayame and Rikimaru's passing and funeral, Irvine had the surviving villagers moved to a large neighboring town that was under the rule of an Ionian Feudal Lord named Matsunoshin Gohda. He was a close friend of his master and reliable ally so he readily accepted the favor when he presented it to him. With all of them safe and under Lord Gohda's protection, he along with his sister and friends he grew up with, went on to form the guild so that tragedies like the one that befell his village would never happen to another.

He didn't realize he was so lost in thought and ended up right in front of the palace courtyard. He stopped as he caught a glimpse of a figure braced up against a pillar near the steps that led to the entrance of the large structure. Irvine made a face.

 _"_ _Aw shit... forgot she said she wanted to meet up with me here."_ He said to himself. As he got a closer look he recognized the face she always made when she was annoyed or agitated. The signature arm crossing and foot tapping too.

 _"Awesome beandip, great way to start the morning off, getting nagged to death."_ He said mentally berating himself.

The woman had looked up from what seemed to be thought and a look of recognition flashed in her eyes before it replaced itself with mild impatience. They both regarded each other for a moment. Irvine having a grin on his face and waving and hers remaining flat.

She sighed before speaking. "What is with you and lateness? I've been here for over an hour now." She said in a British accent. He on the other hand made a small noise and formed an expression that you'd only see in anime.

 _"Grk! An hour?! I didn't think I was hurting that much for time..."_ He said to himself. She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow as she waited for an answer. With a nervous laugh he responded. "Heh heh, sorry Kisala, yesterday's mission took it out of me more than I thought so I kind of overslept." He said sheepishly. There was a noise that cackled into existence before a white hologram materialized. It was an AI, a woman to be exact with hair tied up into a bun. Her eyes shot him a look which he tried to avoid before registering onto the Shirumian named Kisala.

" Kai'Sa I told brando here to set his alarm but he was all like nah, nah, I'll wake up before it's too late." The AI said knowingly. He rubbed the back of his head already knowing where this was headed while Kai'Sa shook her head.

"I don't doubt you for a second Ma3a." She said before looking at him again. "Irvine... with someone of your skill, you'd think getting up and being on time wouldn't be such a challenge." She chastised softly. Ma3a cut in also.

"Gee, I wonder where he's heard that one before?" Ma3a said in a sing song tone. A tick mark appeared on the side of the shinobi's head, already getting tired of the conversation already.

"Well sorry mom! I can't help that I need a bit of sleep from nearly avoiding getting charblasted by monstrous fuglies every single day! Not everyone likes to be a tireless mutant." He barked. Ma3a was quick to mirror her user's demeanor.

"Yeah and if I was your ma, I'd give you a swift kick to your #*!" She retorted back. They both then got dangerously close to each other's faces which prompted Kai'Sa to chuckle lightly to herself. Ma3a broke off from her stare down, a mental light bulb appearing in her vision.

"Say? Weren't Luna and Alex suppose to be here too?" She said. Irvine looked to Kai'Sa before speaking.

"Kai you did tell them we were all meeting here at 6:30 right?" He inquired. She nodded but she knew Luna all too well. Like Irvine and Alex, they were good friends. The whole pizazz. They knew each other inside and out, (not literally) but knowing Luna, she was probably making a detour to take care of something, a something that was agonizingly long.

"Everyone got the memo but she probably went to the Cantina to talk to Reggie. She kept going on yesterday night about a shipment of arrows she ordered that were suppose to come in that very night. They didn't."

Ma3a face palmed while Irvine stroked the small stubble of hair on his chin. "Not that I have any room to talk, she didn't think this could wait?" He probed further.

Kai'Sa shrugged. "I had told her the same thing but she assured me she'd make it on time. Obviously, her perception of time got skewered like a certain someone..." She said playfully which prompted her darker skinned friend to adorn a monotone expression. In the background, Ma3a tried to stifle a laugh at his reaction.

"You know, you two have been having a bad case of verbal diarrhea with the jokes all morning..." He said, apparently not amused. Kai'Sa walked over and gave him a friendly nudge.

"Oh lighten up. We both wouldn't tease you so much if we didn't adore you." She said and eliciting a smirk from him before another question rang through her mind. " Wait... that still poses the question why Alex isn't here? He's usually here before any one of us whenever we get an assignment? _Unless... you don't think she.._ " She said trailing off before making a horrified expression. Irvine's wasn't any better as his skin paled a bit.

"Knowing him, he probably went looking for her and the birdbrain got roped into whatever she's doing at the moment." He said meekly. Both of them looked at each other before letting out a tired sigh. Ma3a also looked between the two before speaking.

"You guys may work well together but your organization sucks. I just hope old man Jarvan doesn't have a conniption fit from waiting so long." Yeah, that'd be the least of their worries. They hoped that the king didn't give another guild the contract instead.

* * *

 **Reggie's House of Lewdness and Life Insurance**

If you want good booze, woman or a place to go to laugh with a couple of buddies, they'd tell you to go to Reggies'. That'd be true if the place didn't attract the pinnacle of gutter scum to have ever walked the Earth. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. While most who spent their time in there weren't criminals, the frequent regulars had manners that left a lot to be desired, hence why the place and the owner get a mixed rep. Reggie himself was a heavy set light skinned man with grey irises, a bald head that looked as if it's been spit shined something fierce, and a full goatee and mustache that earned him the nickname the Bear. A vet of the Unification Wars, he was a stern, taciturn man but could be buttered to open up and crack a few jokes here and there as well as having a sense of humor. From looking further, he could be seen in conversation with two people. A woman and a worgen to be exact. The woman was a looker. She had ocean colored bangs that went half way down her exposed back. It was hard to tell whether it was her natural color or if it was dyed. Her jade green eyes only solidified her appeal as they seemed to be boring holes into the owner much to his discomfort. Looking over her further, she seemed to be some kind of ranger, judging from the gear she had on, not to mention the quiver of arrows and ethereal glowing blue bow that was secured firmly behind her. She wore what looked to be a combination of leather and adamantium alloy armor that were both dark blue and black in color. The chest area left her arms uncovered and half of her taught belly exposed while her shoulders were covered in more of the adamantium with blades that extended upright on the back. Behind her and at her side was a white wolf with a red marking on it's right eye, (assumed to be her pet) and the worgen.

While worgen weren't uncommon in Azaroth, it was rare to see one in Runeterra. Why he as well as the woman were in the cantina were anyone's guess but it had to be for something serious if he was. He was a tall fellow, 6 feet to be precise. To onlookers, he looked like a walking fortress. Clad in armor that was a sun colored yellow with brown that ran along and meshed over sections of it. It emitted a glow that was bright but not to the point that it was blinding. It did get him a couple of smart remarks and jokes from the patrons who were gawking. He only made out one through the unintelligible whispering and chuckles, it being lightbulb doggo. One of them yelled out loud for him to lay off with the light show but he ignored it, already ready to go and focusing his attention on his companion in front of him. He hated when she made up some cockamaney bullcrocky to get him to go along with whatever she was doing. He was even more annoyed at himself for always going along with it even though the end results were the same. What was this? The 200th time now? You'd thought he'd learn by now. From observing him further, some of them could have sworn that the armor resembled the famous king Varian that ruled over Stormwind before his untimely passing. There were a lot of questions but they doubted he'd entertain them. He kept adjusting a colossal sized spiked tower shield on his back as well as repeatedly shifting a greatsword to and fro. It couldn't really be seen behind the shield but from the bits that were able to be observed, it looked of extravagant make, almost mythical. Another patron mused that if he didn't know any better, the sword looked like Varian's legendary sword Shalamayne but that would be impossible. There was no way that the worgen could get his hands on a fabled weapon like that. If anything, the late king would have passed it on to his son that took his place. Maybe there was more to it than that? The worgen was an interesting man, if not mysterious. Uberknowst to him, he was garnering quite a crowd as they discussed among themselves about his appearance. Heck, with that armor and the other items he was toting around, they were surprised he was able to move around at all.

Alex's white eyes were narrowed, to emphasize his mood at the current situation. He reached an armored hand for his brown furred right ear and pinched it together between two metal fingers and began smoothing out an itch that had been bothering him. He watched on in silence as Luna and Reggie talked.

"I told you already, I had it confirmed through the phone and on that paper that they were suppose to arrive at your cantina at 7pm on the dot... " She said pointedly. Reggie on the other remained composed as he wiped down another glass.

"Look Moonwolf, I'm tellin ya, no one showed up yesterday, no truck no person, nothing." He said and hoping to deter her from any further questions. He got one look at her and a bead of sweat began making it's way down the side of his tan head. He should have known better. This woman had trouble settling for anything less, especially when it came to the things she wanted.

"You're going to have to give me something better than an oh, he didn't show up. They didn't call you or give you some kind of heads up?" She said interrogating him further. He shook his head which prompted her to scratch her forehead. "I can't believe this..."

Behind her, Alex caught a glimpse of Reggie. It took him no more than 2 seconds to register the blank look on his face to convey what he was trying to tell him which in turn made him grimace. _"Well what do you want me to do? It's not like I'd have any better lu...oh for Dwayna's sake.."_ He said to himself exasperatedly.

"Luna, I'm sure by the time we get back from our job, that they'll be here but we really need to get going. We're already pushing it bad with time as it is, yeah?" He said in the most friendliest voice he could muster. He nearly choked on his own spit as she turned around to acknowledge him. A blue colored aura of flames emanated from her smaller frame while her eyes glowed an ominous blue. Alex joined the sweat club as an unhealthy amount of beads started flushing in copious amounts from his face.

"Or we could just stay and you know, resolve this little issue. Not like Jarvan's going to chew us out or anything ha ha..." He said laughing nervously. _"I swear I'm never going to hear the end of this from Irvine."_ A loud whir and the sound of digitalization reverberated in the cantina as a small mechanical entity appeared. It was a small orb shaped silver hover drone. It directed a large blue optic like eye to all three of them. Moving as if it were levitating, it floated to where they stood. Luna gave it a side long glance, not willing to put up with a minute of the small robot's antics. She still wondered why she kept it around or why she hasn't put an arrow between the hunk of chassis and electronics that housed it's eye and shutting that overly friendly annoying voice of his up.

"Durendal no one told you to come out and now's not really the time for any of your jokes." Luna said adamantly. The bot named Durendal spun lightly around and faced it's creator. They both watched each other for a minute, the two remaining passive until an image of a frowny face bleeped in front of the drone's eye.

"Always got to hurl the abuse my way don't ya Moonie?" He said feigning the hurt in his modulated voice. "I couldn't help but over hear you and the rotund meatbag's conversation and was going to let you in on a little somethin somethin I happened to overhear but I get it, you don't need me. I'll just park my non existent glute elsewhere." He finished and trying to float away before Luna clamped her entire palm and fingers around Durendal's orb like body. He visibly struggled before stopping.

"Hold it! What do you mean you heard something? You know something about this?" She quipped. To the left Alex snickered while Reggie put two and two together and broke off into a cold sweat.

"He called you rotund, pfffft..." Alex said trying to hold in the laugh. Reggie looked at him with a not another word stare.

"Shut up Greymane..." He said before turning away and panicking. _"Shit, don't tell me that dang robot overheard my conversation the other night...?"_ He spluttered and thinking of several possible scenarios out of the situation he currently found himself embroiled in. He caught the droid looking at him in the corner of his eye. In a vain attempt, he put a finger up to his mouth. The droid observed him for a few moments before the image of a red evil grin appeared from it's optical eye. He put two hands together and begged but the little robot wasn't hearing any of it.

Durendal cleared it's throat loudly before playing a recording. **" Playback start, July 9th 2041EE.**

 **Reggie: I'm not trying to talk semantics with you. Can you do it or not?**

 **Random Unknown: Reggie, all of this over a bet you lost, really? Alright fine, fine, I just hope for your sake she doesn't find out.**

 **Reggie's mutterings: Heh heh heh, thought you were going to keep beating me in that game of spades without consequence eh? Bahahahahahahaha!**

 **Random Unknown: What a sore loser...**

 **Reggie: Aww shad up... just have it done before tomorrow.. : Playback ended.** "Extri Extri! Fat man gets two new holes welded into his extremities, read all about it!" Durendal said cheerfully. Reggie on the other hand froze with a face with no eyes or mouth while Alex shot him a glance.

"Welp, been nice knowing you man. Maybe if you clench your cheeks, it won't hurt too bad." Alex joked. Reggie didn't find any of it amusing at all.

 _"Oh you miserable little trash compactor..."_ He said paralyzed with fear. He dared himself to look at the woman who he slighted, already prepared for his impending doom. Her spastic shaking and forced smile didn't help matters. She walked up to the counter slowly, took the glass out of his hand and shattered it in it's entirety with a closed grip which made him let out a squeak.

 **"Reggie... where are my arrows?"** She said in a sweet voice that betrayed the clear edge of darkness in it. He put up his hands defensively, trying his best to formulate words.

"Err um _Gibson's scrapyard..._ " He said in a tiny voice and hoping she didn't hear him. She grabbed him by the scuff of his shirt with unnatural strength and brought him closer with a hand to her ear.

"What was that?! Can't hear you?! You said where?!" She said loudly.

He sighed. "Gibson's Scrapyard..." He said wincing and preparing for a blow that never came. Her face was expressionless before letting go of the piece of fabric that she had bundled in her grip. He flinched as she reached a hand and patted his right shoulder.

"Tell you what, way I see it, you have one option. You have until I get back from this job to make that shipment magically appear here or else three things are going to happen. One, you're going to get several new #$holes welded into you, two, I'll give old man Jarvan a reason to shut this place down, three, I'll let everyone know that little secret of yours." She said nonchalantly.

He, ignoring the other two terrible fates, focused on the third. "You wouldn't..." He said with narrowed eyes.

A sly impish grin graced her lips. "Try me."

He shook his head. "Fine, fine I get it Moonwolf. They'll be here before you get back, yeesh. You're definitely Balalaika's kid, Jesus Christ..." He proclaimed before facing the robot. "Luna why don't you keep your pet garbage disposal unit on a leash once in awhile. How did he even get out in the first place?"

She shrugged. "I was wondering myself where he had went off to that night but it was a good thing he did. You just keep in mind what I said. Aniu come." She beckoned as the wolf followed behind her as well as Alex. The droid had to get in one last jab as they made their exit.

"Remember, no arrows and it's porkchops on the menu tonight, ha haaaah!" He teased. Reggie had to stop himself from throwing a glass at the robot.

 **"OUT!"** He bellowed. Alex laughed and waved at him before facing Luna. " Luna, you can be pretty evil sometimes."

She waved him off. " Only when I get crossed. He should have known better than to go do something like that, especially over a bet. Not my problem he sucks balls at spades." She said offhandedly.

"Fair enough..." Alex said. "What's that secret you were talking about?" He asked.

She smiled. "Eh, that's a story for another time. Come on, we need to get going. They're probably all tired of waiting."

Alex's eyebrows furrowed. "Way too late for that but I suppose it doesn't matter now..."

With the whereabouts of the arrows located and Reggie strong armed into bringing them back, the worgen and hunter along with her droid and wolf companion set off to rendezvous with their other two compatriots at Jarvans'. Unknown to the two as well as Kisala and Irvine, their mission would turn out to be a little more than disrupting Darkling unrest. Find out what happens in the next chapter of the 9 Deadly Legends!

 **Upcoming Chapter: Chapter 2: Bleak Hour**

 **Author's Note: Okay so this note is going to be kind of long but I'll try not to make a habit out of it in future chapters unless it's information that needs to be put out there. So as not to make chapters extremely long, (which in a sense isn't too much of a bad thing) and burn myself out, I decided to end it here. The next chapter will have a lot more interesting things going on and more action as well as reveal where the other guild members are which I'm about to explain down below who the rest of them are. I may play around and add a few fun things after every chapter, (may be nerdy to some but thought it'd be a nice edition). It may be some more quotes from characters, a level up type of thing that describes what abilities were level'd up during the course of the chapter from my OCs or the other characters that are in the guild, (this one is just mainly for fun and not really anything that'll contribute to the story) or just something purely random. This is after a chapter is done though and not during it to avoid adding unnecessary clutter.**

 **As follows these are the people who will be in the guild. Some you'll recognize instantly from the game, others are my OC. I'll give a description of who and who isn't an OC. More detailed information will probably be put out, starting from chapter 2 and maybe future chapters here and there so don't expect any of what I mentioned to be long.**

 **Name: Irvine Aesir Stratos OC/ Position: Leader of Aesir's Edge/ Hero Name: Nightblade**

 **Name: Kisala Shiruma. Position: Recon/ Hero Name: Kai'Sa**

 **Name: Alex Stone Greymane OC: Position: Tank and Second in Command/ Hero Name: Bastion**

 **Name: Luna Ophelia Moonwolf OC: Position: Sniper/ Hero Name: Mercury**

 **Name: Akane Shizune Azuma Position: Jungle/ Hero Name: Akali**

 **Name: Klonoa Volnut OC Position: Middle/Pathfinder/ Hero Name: White Zephyr**

 **Name: Brendan Chronomere Position: Guild's Engineer/ Hero Name: Ekko**

 **Name: Zoelasira Nene Piproxu Position: Support/ Hero Name: Zoe**

 **Name: Jayce Lawson Position: Armorer/ Hero Name: Thorim**

 **Few more things before I stop because at this point, I'm rambling lolololol.**

 **Irvine is my OC and the protagonist. None of what I described in chapter one comes from anything that's Naruto but more along the lines of Ninja Gaiden, Tenchu and the PS2 game Shinobi. To me they are what real ninjas are and I've had a love for ninjas since I was a little stink so that's mostly where the inspiration came from.**

 **Nothing really to say about Kai'Sa except that since she and her dad Kassadin are from Shiruma, I decided to use that as a last name for her.**

 **Alex is my best friend's OC who I know in real life and is pretty much my blood brother. He likes to tank in MMOs as well as having a strong liking for wolf like characters and a sense of justice hence where the inspiration for his design came from. We were both advid WoW players back in the day so that served as inspiration as well.**

 **Luna is my friend Heather's OC who I met on WoW and have been friends with for several years. Her character was inspired by one of her toons on Guild Wars 2. Her wolf is from the console game Okami.**

 **Klonoa is from the series Klonoa which were on a variety of consoles and handhelds. He was inspired from the PS2 game Lunatea's Veil. Thought he'd make an excellent edition to the guild.**

 **Nothing really to say about Ekko, Akali and Jayce, ( if you didn't pick up that Jayce was Thorim from reading above lol) and that Ekko will normally be in his standard skin but switch to his Project Ekko skin when the time calls for it. All I'll say on that.**

 **In this story, Zoe is the daughter of Jarvan as well as Garen and Lux, making the three siblings with her being the youngest. I'll touch base more on that as the story progresses.**

 **Okay last but not least, I decided to give each character in the guild a theme song. This may not be everyone's cup of tea. This is something that was a personal preference to me and didn't have in mind what anyone else's opinion would be. Again this was a personal preference. Note that my titles are just there to go along with the character. The music doesn't belong to me. All my references as well as the music go to their respective owners. I don't own any of it.**

 **Aesir Edge's Theme: The Lotus Blooms Twice. (Green Lotus, By: Magicxbeats: watch?v=sZelkw7N6ak)**

 **Irvine's Theme: Passing the Torch. (Be Like Water, By: Segeric: watch?v=eEaqLz1B4aA)**

 **Zoe's Theme: Princess of Twilight. (Oh Love, By: Abstract Entertainment: watch?v=pTomw2qyXyM)**

 **Kai'Sai Theme: Beautiful Void Wanderer (Mona Lisa, By: Magicxbeats: watch?v=3Z32hyadrUA)**

 **Alex's Theme: Paragon (Ace's Street Fighter EX 3 theme, By: Capcom Team: watch?v=7cD6Fnh1VoM)**

 **Luna's Theme: Girl with the Eagle Eyes (The Girl Across the Way, By: Mahareshi M: watch?v=LrF2B0cgQrU)**

 **Klonoa's Theme: Cloud Child ( MapleStory Minar's Dream Remix, By: Magicxbeats: watch?v=_1rUMuoI9ZA)**

 **Akali's Theme: Sister's Shadow (Assassin 4U - Ruku X Tenchu , By: Rukunetsu: watch?v=O6mq-KKspzw)**

 **That's all the themes I had stored in my brain from the start. Will have to sort for the two that I missed on a future chapter perhaps. Alright again, sorry for the terrible long author's note. Future chapters won't have long author notes unless it's relevant. Other than that be on the look out for chapter 2 and appreciate you guys reading!**


	3. Bleak Hour

**Chapter 2: Bleak Hour**

 **Summary of Chapter 2: With the gang finally situated at the royal palace, they'll discuss on how to proceed from there. Whether or not this would be business as usual remained to be determined.**

 _"Always tell your loved ones that you love them for tomorrow holds many unknowns."_

 _"Quote from Aesir's Edge Hero Nightblade or Irvine Stratos"_

 **Runterra City/ Palace Throne Room**

The palace was spacious with many hallways and rooms that either led to offices, barracks or living quarters. Anyone not familiar or a first timer in the palace would wonder to themselves whether or not they would get lost or not. It was a beauty if anything. Decorations, various types of majestically designed furniture and tapestries filled the surrounding areas along with fountains that shot streams of water into a wide concrete dome that made residence on the floor. The tank and sharpshooter had no trouble finding their way to the throne room. After all, they've been to it dozens of times. Alex and Luna walked in to immediately be greeted by the sight of their two friends in front of Jarvan who he himself, sat in a chair of utmost craftsmanship. The king had a warm smile on his face while Irvine gave a slick smile in the worgen's direction and causing him to roll his eyes. Kai'Sa gave a sheepish smile as well and let out a tiny breath of air with an eyebrow raised. Seeing as everyone seemed to be in relatively good spirits despite the two's tardiness, they both visibly relaxed.

Alex walked up beside his best friend and gave him a light knuckle bump while Luna threw an arm over Kai'Sa much to her minor displeasure but quickly dismissed it and gave her an equal inviting smile. Jarvan watched them all before clearing his throat and speaking which snapped everyone out of their minor group activity.

Alex walked forward and quickly lowered himself to one knee, almost forgetting that again, he was late, very late. " I apologize for my tardiness milord. We had a matter of the upmost urgency to take care of and tried to rush here as soon as it was finished." The wolfman said politely. Jarvan held an open hand out and shook his head.

"It's quite alright noble Alex. Raise yourself, no need to be so formal. While the matter is urgent, I'm just glad you and the lovely Luna made it here." Jarvan said. In the background, Luna fake coughed.

"Kissass..." She mumbled which in turn caused Alex to glare at her while Irvine and Kai'Sa's muffled chuckles filled the small area. Jarvan then turned his attention to Luna.

"So, did you get your issue squared away lass?" He questioned. Luna perked up at being addressed. If they were to hold an award ceremony for best acting, then the guild's sniper would have won five global nominees.

"I did! It was horrible though!" She exaggerated. Kai'Sa gave her friend a look of disbelief.

"You're such a drama queen..." The Shirumian woman stated. Luna whirled her head around.

"Shh!" She said with a finger to her mouth and blowing with a little too much enthusiasm. Jarvan was amused by it. He always was and liked hearing the group's banter with one another.

"Oh? Do tell?" He said and with that she did. He had both hands folded under his chin as he listened. He laughed at the part where Durendal came in and the recording, nodding here and there and giving vocal cues that he was listening as she went on. Kai'Sa found all of it hilarious herself. While they were talking among themselves, Irvine and Alex broke off from the conversation to have one of their own. Alex was the first one to start off.

"Hey man, sorry for being so late. Got caught up with her shenanigans." He said apologizing. Irvine pounded a fist lightly on his breastplate.

"It's alright, she didn't get you into any trouble did she?" He asked. Alex shook his head.

"Me? Not at all, Reggie? Let's just say he's going to be using the restroom in a lot of different openings if he doesn't turn up with that shipment." The worgen said humorously and causing his smaller friend to chuckle lightly. Irvine looked down at the ground for a second, his lips forming a thin crease before looking back up at Alex.

"How's Anduin holding up? He adjusting to his new responsibilities?" He asked curiously. Alex's eyes went wide for a second before answering back.

"Hahaha, yeah, if you want to call it that. He said it's kind of a pain in the ass but he's adjusting to it really well though." He said good heartedly. A mechanical click could then be heard as he reached and unsheathed his greatsword from it's resting place. Judging from Irvine's reaction to it, he had a hard time believing what he was seeing, as if a mischievous ghost played slapsticks with his face. "Still don't know why he gave it to me, even though we spent half of the time playing mental gymnastics and me insisting that it would be wasted on me. He wasn't going to let up so I just agreed to it." Irvine looked to the sword and back at him then to the sword again.

"So he just up and gave you Shalamayne? You sure he didn't throw back too many that evening?" He said still in shock. Alex rubbed the back of his neck.

"Like I said, he's the one who kept insisting. Even said I'd probably be a better wielder for it. So I just went with it." There was a brief pause with Alex being thoughtful for a second before he found a spot somewhere in the distance to look at. A solemn expression was now plastered on his wolf like features. Irvine picked up on this and went on a limb to guess what he was thinking about.

"I'm sorry about Varian. I know how close you and your grandfather were to their family. He was a good man. Maybe if we would have found out sooner then I could have went with you and we could have maybe prevented what Gul'Dan had set in motion." He said, remorsefully.

While Alex wasn't directing his frustration and anger out on him, he did let it be known. Teeth visibly grit. "No, it wasn't your problem at the time. There were just too many variables that happened during the Alliance and Horde's joint effort to stop that accursed degenerate but no, this all falls on me. Grandpa Genn and Anduin told me that no one was to blame but Gul'Dan but I still blame myself. There was something I could have done but instead, I was so caught up searching for that damn father of mine that I didn't hear about it until the last minute. By then it was too late..." He said in a low voice but furiously.

Irvine walked over and clocked him lightly over the head. He reached his gauntleted hand towards the spot, a look of confusion on his face before pausing. Irvine's face was passive but no nonsense. "You snap back into reality now? Dumbass, I'm your brother, if something's going on with you then of course I'm going to make it my problem, regardless of what it is. I'm here man, anytime you need help with anything. Anytime you're in trouble, I'm going to be there, as well as the rest of the guild. Did you forget rule number four of our creed? If a guildy is in trouble then no matter what, we all will assist him or her, regardless of circumstance?" He said finishing his lengthy dialogue.

Alex watched him for a few minutes before closing his eyes and smiling. "I didn't forget brother and I know you guys got my back. Thanks for giving me the wake up call." He said holding his hand out. Irvine took it and they both gave each other a thundering handshake before bringing it in for a brotherly hug and then breaking it off. Irvine then brought up one last question before he'd be satisfied and dropping the matter entirely.

"Still no luck finding any info out about Warwick?" Irvine asked. Alex shook his head.

"Nothing. I went through dozens of sources and there's been no kind of concrete info on where father's gotten off to. It's like he's disappeared off the grid. Ever since that incident happened and he, deciding to seclude himself from mother and I. We got bigger things to worry about so for now I'm going to put it behind me until we get the here and now sorted out." With no further inquires, Irvine gave a nod of approval before the both of them turned back to the rest of the group. Both of their faces took on a dopey expression. They didn't know when they stopped their conversation but they apparently heard theirs, in all of it's glory. Kai'sa was beaming, mostly at Irvine. He caught a faint glimpse of red on her cheeks. In her mind, she found it cute and always thought their brotherly bond was special. Luna on the other hand clasped both of her hands together mockingly and cooed while batting her eyelashes, with the full intent of being aggravating.

"Such a heartwarming bromance, *sniff*" She teased and causing Kai'Sa to smack her arm. Irvine's face went between a smile and trying not to say something back but stuck his middle finger up at her while Alex shook his head. Luna laughed loudly at his reaction, she liked poking fun at him but she knew it was always in good fun.

"Anytime babe, anytime." She winked. Irvine made the ugliest face he could muster, a little too forcefully. If he did it anymore, his face would have looked compressed.

"I'd rather do a backflip in lava..." He stated and causing a juicy red tick mark to appear on the ocean haired girl's forehead. He reflexively caught an ethereal blue dagger aimed right between his eyes. He blew a sigh of relief before becoming livid in the most comical manner ever.

"Hey, I'm not trying to be the next human pincushion! You could have poked my eye out!" He said holding the dagger in one hand and pointing at it with another. She shrugged.

"Hand slipped, my bad..." She said lying through her teeth. Jarvan was in tears from laughing so badly but after a few brief moments quickly composed himself and adorned a serious gate causing all of them to change to match his demeanor as well in the shift of atmosphere.

"Alright, think we had enough chatter and fun now and we've wasted enough time. Here's the situation. We've got leads of a Darkling incursion in a small village, south of Runeterra City named Darrowmere. I've got guardsmen stationed there as well as sending a detachment further out from the village to pinpoint the source of where they're coming from. They came in force one night and almost overwhelmed the guardsman but they were able to ward off the attack to the village. It didn't stop them from taking the village folk from their homes in the night however. The soldiers I sent further out haven't reported back either according to one of my legionaries who made it back here to fill me in. This isn't some simple attack from roving mindless beasts. This was coordinated. Irvine was quick to interject.

"As in someone is leading them.." He proclaimed. Kai'sa piped up too.

"They sound like they're after something as well, question is what? Darklings usually don't venture too far into settlements, especially if they're met by force. There's got to be a reason why they're taking those villagers." She mused. This caused Jarvan to nod at their assessment.

"Indeed. The soldier told me that the villagers unearthed some unidentified crystalline object. They weren't able to determine the material or what it was but from what I was told, they could feel faint traces of magic emanating from it. That night of the raid they hauled that off along with the people. What they're using it for is still in question but nothing good can come out of it the longer those monsters are left to their own devices. Still poses the question of where they're coming from?" Jarvan said ending his explanation. Cackling into existence, the hologram of the AI Ma3a came into view from her digital home that resided in Irvine's technological arm.

"Actually, I know exactly where it is your majesty." She said producing a square shaped computerized map. Irvine looked down at her.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" He asked. She looked up at her user and smiled.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It's not like I was withholding information. There were major energy fluctuations this morning, coming from this direction." She said spinning the map around and moving her finger along to a giant red bleeping dot." I had to make sure that this is where it led to but yes, I have pinpointed the location. Besides, it would have been best if we all would have gotten together first to discuss a course of action before any of us acted." She said. Irvine didn't argue and was actually throughly impressed with her. Never ceased to amaze him how sophisticated and reliable she was. He knew the AI was state of the art but she was something more, almost human levels of sophistication. He asked her at one point in time who created her?What was used in her creation? Many questions. She didn't have an answer to them. Stating that there was a lot of restricted information locked behind a safeguard that she couldn't crack nor did she have access to. Like it was put in place purposely. Heck, when he first got the suit, they didn't really give him much to go on. Putting that aside he smiled back at her.

"Ma3a you really are something else, best AI partner that money could buy!" He praised. Jarvan also offered his appraisal.

"Indeed, excellent work madame AI, you probably just saved a lot of lives and time by finding this information." He said acknowledging her which prompted her to bow.

"Thank you your majesty, speedy." She said gratefully. She looked up and caught the sight of the other three smiling and giving quick nods of approval at her. Jarvan then asked one more thing of her.

"Ma3a, I know you can interface with our computers here from Irvine's arm. I want you to update me if you sense any changes in the readings you got. I also want you to get any info you can while you guys are investigating the source of that disturbance. We need to know why they were here. We got caught with our pants down and there might be bigger repercussions if something like this is allowed to happen again." He commanded. Ma3a nodded.

"Yes sir!" She exclaimed. Jarvan then focused his ice blue eyes at the other four.

"Now, my fine Aesir's Edge. Your objectives are as follows. You're to head to the village of Darrowmere and assess the situation. Once you're done, I want you to head to the source of that disturbance and do whatever you can to shut down their activities. Gather any information you can. Rescue any soldier or civilian that may still be alive in there but fore and foremost, you're to completely eradicate any darkling threat that you encounter, with extreme prejudice. They can't be allowed to expand anywhere in this province or else they may become a bigger problem in the future. Those are your orders my stalwart champions. Any questions?" He asked.

The four of them looked between each other and smiled confidently. "None!" They all said in unison. Jarvan smiled broadly.

"Then cleanse this taint that has plagued our holy lands for the sake of Runeterra and her people!" He quaked mightily. With that the four made their way out of the throne room. Jarvan watched as they walked out before turning his attention to a person standing near an entry way that lead to another hall. It was a butler. Jarvan put on a friendly smile.

"Ah, Jeeves, didn't see you there." He said. The man named Jeeves put a hand to his chest and gave a slight bow.

"Forgive me your highness. I was here for quite sometime now but seeing as you were in a lengthy monologue with the young champions, I decided to wait until you were done." The man had a proper air about him, befit of his duties. He motioned for a maid to come over, a tray in her hands and the contents being tea and a pastry of some kind. "I just came to tell you that your afternoon tea and snack were ready. Also you neglected to ask young master Irvine how your daughter was doing." Jeeves said and causing a look of recognition to flash on the Demacian King's face.

"Eegad! I did didn't I? Well I can always message him through Ma3a. Thank you for reminding me." He said graciously. His right hand man and head butler gave another curt bow.

"Think nothing of it milord, I exist to serve you and the royal family." He stated before looking back up and towards the door. " I do hope our paragons don't run into too much trouble? This doesn't sound like they're dealing with the usual ruffians." He said worriedly. Jarvan slouched down with both hands folded towards his mouth.

"Yes. I just can't shake this feeling that something bigger may be going on than we were initially led to believe." He said thoughtfully. While they did pray for their safe journey back and for the mission to go without a hitch, they both surmised that it wouldn't be as simple as that.

* * *

As the group neared the exit that led back into the courtyard a screen with a message appeared in front of the white colored AI's fov. It was from Jarvan. Irvine nodded at her to accept the call. A video of Jarvan came into view.

"Is this thing on! Oh! Irvine sorry to call you out of the blue like this." He said from the other end. Irvine grinned and shook his head.

"Not a problem big guy, what's up?" The ninja asked.

"One thing I neglected to ask you, how's my daughter? Is she okay? Have you heard anything back from her?" The king said. Irvine could hear a slight bit of worry in his voice but quickly put him at ease.

"She's fine your majesty. My younger sister and Jayce are with them. They actually completed their task and should be back sometime during the night." He said assuredly. Jarvan seemed to be satisfied with the info before continuing the conversation.

"That's good to hear. Puts me at ease a little. I want to thank you for continuing to take care of my little girl and seeing to it that she makes it back safely from each assignment." He said thankfully. Irvine again, shook his head.

"Really, it's no problem. We wouldn't have gotten this far if we didn't look out for one another." He replied. Jarvan nodded.

"Well one more thing? Even though I know you guys will be okay, just please be careful. Something doesn't smell right with this particular assignment I sent you guys on and you need to be vigilant." He said seriously and causing Ma3a to join in on their dialogue.

"Don't worry your highness, I'll make sure these knuckleheads don't get themselves into a jam. You can count on it." The AI said reassuringly. Jarvan chuckled.

"See to it that you do madame AI. Well, I've taken up enough of your time. Good luck to you all! See you when you come back." Jarvan said bidding him and the rest of Aesir's Edge farewell. Irvine waved before the video call ended. He looked to the rest of them walking beside him and smirked. Luna was the first to speak up.

"Well, let's go make trouble then? Eh Aniu? Guys?" She said looking down and petting the wolf which answered her with a bark before looking at the rest of them. Alex slammed both of his fists together with a thundering crash which caused a loud clank to reverberate around the area.

"Yeah, eager to cleave some minion fodders with Shalamayne. Whatever the good king is worried about, I'm sure we'll be able to whether past it like we always have." He said confidently as Kai'Sa agreed herself.

"Certainly but it never hurts to be too careful. Wouldn't be the first time a rodeo turns into a baddie thrashing festival. However, I never shirk down from a good hunt." She said with a hungry edge in her voice. Irvine reached a hand for his katana's hilt and gripped it tightly before breaking off into a sprint with the others following suit.

"Let's not keep our guests waiting then! Aesir's Edge! Move out!" He yelled. As they ran towards the end of the city, some of the soldiers and civilian populace waved and screamed out good luck to them, figuring they had gotten another job of some sort.

* * *

 **Village of Darrowmere: 10:00am July 10th 2041EE**

After a lengthy trek through a dirt path surrounded by woods, they arrived at Darrowmere. Unfortunately, the place was a ghost town. Not a single human in sight. A couple of dust bunnies rolled by but that was it. As they walked in they took notice of their surroundings. A majority of houses and huts were intact and looked surprisingly untouched for a hub that just survived a raid. Other structures weren't as lucky. Some of the brick abodes were completely destroyed and nothing more than a pile of rubble while the straw huts they observed were either caved in or had the roofs taken off entirely with destroyed items strewn about everywhere. The four guildmates were all in consensus that something definitely wasn't right here and Jarvan was right on the money with his suspicions. The four bunched up tightly, looking all around themselves, readying for an ambush.

"So, I take it we missed the welcoming committee?" Luna said deciding to break the monotony. Kai'Sa decided to humor her analysis.

"Perhaps but this is eerily unsettling... you guys don't think the darklings made another raid and got everyone in one feel swoop did they?" Kai'Sa asked nervously and looking to her companions for input. Irvine disagreed.

"No, there would have been heavier damage than this and there seems to be no signs that a fight went on here except the other day when they were intially attacked." His yellow irises, narrowed. "You guys be ready. We aren't alone." He said with urgency. Alex looked at him then back to the supposedly empty houses.

"You sensing something buddy?" He said cautiously. Irvine nodded.

"Yeah, my Ki is picking up life force. They're hiding, whoever they are." He said. Ma3a offered input of her own.

"He's right, there's movement from within those houses." Before she could say anything else, a flash followed by the staccato boom of a gunshot filled the air as a bullet zipped from the obscure darkness of one of the houses. Everything happened in a flash. Luna was the closest and would have been the bullet's mark if Alex hadn't positioned himself in front of her and blocking the bullet that pinged off the shield. She on the other hand spun in a semi circle around him and came to a skidding halt before drawing her ethereal bow Managarmr and nocking an arrow faster than the human eye could follow, training it on the sight of the attack. Aniu was right beside her master, growling ferociously and ready to pounce on anything that made the mistake of engaging them. Kai'Sa and Irvine were quick to follow suit, focusing on the opposite side of them. Purple void energy swirled and hummed as it materialized two oddly shaped guns composed purely of empyrean essence in each of her hands. Kai'Sa angled them, ready to fire on the first hostile she saw. Irvine kept a steady hand on the hilt of his katana Onimaru and summoned four light forge kunai, (white kunai shaped energy charges that are brought into existence by an auxiliary power unit within his Nightingale suit that feeds power directly to his arms and allowing them to be used on the fly) and curling them between his fingers. Already prepped to nail anyone who stepped foot outside and ultimately bringing swift death to them up close and personal with his high tech katana should it turn into a battle. Irvine and Alex mimicked each other, both of them repeatedly tapping their hands on their hilts, adrenaline and anxiety at it's upmost peak. Making slow and subtle movements. The ninja however stopped the uncomfortable silence.

"Whoever you are, come out!" He said authoritatively. They waited a few moments. Nothing. Their sharpshooter quickly lost patience.

"We aren't playing games with you! Come out now or we'll force you to!" She threatened. They all looked apprehensively as several shadows shifted from within the huts and houses before visibly relaxing. Several soldiers along with villagers, men,woman and children being among them revealed themselves. One of the soldiers, a gruff looking middle aged man, assumed to be the commanding officer, stepped forward. He shot one of his underlings a harsh look. Judging from the young fellow's cowering reaction, he was the one who fired.

"I told you to hold your fire Jenkins! What if you would have hit one of them?!" He said angrily. The soldier named Jenkins spoke in a quivering voice.

" S-Sorry sarge. I-I got nervous.." He said meekly. The sergeant's upper lipped curled upwards a little.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. If we weren't facing a crisis right now, I'd have you do double night shifts with no breaks." He said before sighing. He looked at the four champions in front of him, replacing his anger with a composed greeting. "Sorry about that, everyone here is just on edge due to the attack on the village. One of my men reported seeing you guys approaching from the pathway there but couldn't really get any positive ID on you. We didn't want to take any chances so sorry if we put you guys on alert." He said apologetically. He then held out his hand. "Sergeant Billoway, 31st regiment." The rest of Aesir's Edge looked between each other before putting away their respective weapons. Irvine and Alex walked forward. Each taking turns to shake his hand before Irvine answered in kind.

"It's alright sergeant. I'm Irvine Stratos, leader of these rowdy folk and Aesir's Edge." He said and causing the sergeant to give him a nod. He looked then to Alex. Alex followed suit.

"I'm his second in command, Alex Greymane, nice to met you sergeant. We're here to assist in anyway we can." The worgen answered as well. Billoway looked at the two woman. Luna looked up from trying to settle Aniu down, a look of annoyance on her face.

"Look, I'm not really good with introductions but you can call me Luna, pretty sure we're known already anyway." She shot a look at the soldier who fired the gun with him trying to avoid her gaze. She jerked a thumb in his direction. " Why don't you tell go lucky idiot here to ease up on the trigger happiness or next time he might find an arrow lodged in his cranium." She said snarkly with a wicked smile and causing a look of dread to appear on the younger soldier's face. He then got on his hands and knees, begging for forgiveness.

"I-I'm terribly sorry Lady Luna, p-please forgive me. This was my first assignment so I didn't know what to expect. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to put you in a position like that, forgive me." He said genuinely. Luna crossed her arms with a hmph and her eyes closed before opening one of them and smiling at him impishly.

"Sure, I'll forgive you but going to need some compensation for it fir.." She tried to get out before Kai'Sa smacked her swiftly over the head and causing her to let out a small yelp while gripping her head. "Hey!" She yelled. Kai'Sa on the other hand gave her a look that shut her up instantly and reduced her to mumbling some incoherent babble. She smiled sweetly at the soldier and sergeant.

"What she meant to say is that she accepts your apology and there's no hard feelings. As my friend Alex said we're here to help." Her eyes went big for a second with a hand to her chin. "Oh? Where are my manners? I'm Kisala Shiruma but you can call me Kai'Sa." She said politely.

The young soldier as well as a few guards shared hushed whispers, some of them calling her a goddess while a few of the villagers walked over to converse with her and causing Irvine to smile broadly. It was crazy how much she changed from the girl they had lost to the void when they were kids. When they had found her again, she was cold, almost emotionless. It had taken her awhile to adjust to normal life again. Not to mention she also had a dad that pretty much abandoned her at a young age for reasons unknown. She had no other sort of family so Luna and her family took her in. While she spent most of her time in Freljord, she came to Demacia to visit along with Luna and her sister Ashe. While Irvine was the only other besides Luna that she told what went down while she was trapped in the void realm, there were still things that she couldn't tell them. She told him, in due time she'd reveal more to him. It was a promise. He didn't pry anymore than that. He was just glad that she was with them. Once introductions were done, they got down to business with Billoway speaking up.

"Heard a lot about you Nightblade. If it's you guys that are on the scene then I have no doubt you can stop whatever those beasts are plotting." He said. Alex prompted the commanding officer for another question.

"Can you tell us anything more about what happened that night?" He asked. The sergeant looked at him before facing towards another path that led to another pathway out of the village with a face as hard as iron. They could tell that the event left a lasting impression on him.

"I'm sure the king filled you in before you got here but... by all that is holy, I still don't know how we pulled through." He said morbidly. " Everything was fine until we dug that dang object from that crater over yonder." He said pointing to said thing. " I had taken second shift with a couple of my men that night. Nothing out of the ordinary. Seemed like it was going to be another quiet night then out of nowhere they came. At least 30 of them." Billoway explained further. Irvine and Alex exchanged unsettling looks between each other while Luna and Kai'Sa peeked over. They too didn't find the news pleasant. Billoway continued his story. " We heard a couple of screams and immediately came out to engage them. We fought hard but we couldn't stop some of them from taking some of the civilian populace. We even had casualties. A few of my soldiers and any civilian who tried to resist. By the goddess Dwayna, even innocent children..." He said angrily. He was deep in thought for a second before his face became even more grim. " They were led by a small creature. He was dressed up in a purple robe and a wizard like hat with eyes that glowed like scorching brimstone. That wasn't the worst of it however. I've never thought something so tiny could pack so much magic power. Some of my men tried to engage him but he reduced them to cinder piles instantly. I don't know if there are others like him but he seemed to be the only one calling the shots. He ordered the other darklings to take that giant crystal to wherever they were held up at, along with some of the village folk. Johnson's team, with orders from the king, went after them but they haven't reported back in. That was twenty hours ago so I fear they may be KIA as well." He said pointing towards the pathway. "Why he didn't decide to eradicate the rest of us, is a conundrum to me. He would have been very capable and we would have been able to do little to stop it. His mistake however. Guess he wasn't counting on you guys coming in eh?" He said, slowly regaining hope. Irvine and Alex nodded with Irvine putting his doubts to rest. A steel like glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, you're right, he didn't and it's going to be his downfall along with any who follow him. Don't worry, they won't get away with this. Whatever they're planning, it's going to be put to an end today..." He said resolute. Alex whole heartedly agreed with his best friend.

"You guys did well to hold out for as long as you did but we'll take it from here. If any of those people they took are still alive then we'll bring them back. I give you my word." Alex said. Over on the far side, a few of the villagers approached Luna and Kai'Sa, a woman and her two daughters to be specific. The mother was a middle aged woman with green eyes but was pretty for her age. She had her auburn hair tied into a ponytail and wore a pretty pink/tan dress. Her daughters wore dresses too one blue and the other orange. They resembled their mother greatly although one of the little girls had a lighter color of hair than her mother. She went up to Luna specifically and grasped her hands, causing the sniper's cheeks to flush a light color of red out of embarrassment. The little girl's took an instant liking to Aniu. The wolf allowed the two to pet her as well as licking the two girls and causing them to giggle. Luna was at a loss for words for a second before managing to find a way to form sentences like a normal person.

"Um... you kind of have me at a lost here ma'am." She said flustered. The woman smiled serenely at her response.

"I think it's a brave thing you young heroes are doing." She said with an aura of warmth. It was however replaced with a sad frown and causing Luna along with Kai'Sa to adopt a look of alarm. "I know we're asking much of you already but please, I have an older daughter that was kidnaped but those nightmarish fiends. Please... I'm begging you, if she's still alive, rescue my baby." She pleaded. Luna and Kai'Sa shared sympathetic glances before the norse girl closed her eyes with a smile and gripping the lady's hands tighter.

"Don't you worry. If she's in there, we'll get her out along with anyone else that's in their vile clutches. I'll make sure they get an extra helping of arrows for the trouble they caused!" She said balling one fist up and thrusting it in the air at face level. The woman had tears of happiness, nodding vigorously as she did it.

"Thank you thank you." She said through muffle sobs. Her other compatriots smiled at her. Even though Luna could be a sassy, fiery tamale, her heart was always in the right place when the situation called for it. Kai'Sa walked over to the little girls and whispered something to them since she took notice that they were carrying candy around. She let it slip that Luna had a sweet tooth and that she'd be putty in anyone's hand if they buttered her up with it. With that, they walked over. Luna raised both eyebrows at this, with a puzzled look and trying to determine what they were up to. The one with the blue dress was the first to approach her.

"I just wanted to give you this as thanks for going to rescue big sis Sarah." She said offering a hand with an assortment of candy in it. Luna's eyes lit up with stars and a loud squee. She quickly pocketed the candy, grabbed both little girls and brought them into a crushing hug. Rubbing her cheeks against theirs and causing the both of them to enter a childish giggling fit.

"Oh aren't you two the sweetest, considerate little adorbs!" She said happily. "Strawberry Ghost Candies too?! Yeah, just leave it to me! I'm all over it!" She said going into a happy dance and tangent. After some more dialogue with the soldiers and villagers Aesir's Edge set off for the direction that would lead them to where the darklings resided. The little girls, the mother, Billoway and everyone else present waved them off and vocally wished them good luck.

* * *

 **Unknown**

Lurking deep within a cavernous, technological facility, teeming with dark and profane magiks, sat one lone figure as he observed the unsuspecting four through a magical orb. There was clear disgust in his voice as he watched them. He spoke in a high pitched voice that betrayed his sinister appearance.

" **Cheh! Out of all people they could have sent after us, they called in assistance from that detestable Aesir's Edge..."** He scoffed. **"No matter, there's nothing those fools can do. Everything has already been set in motion."** He said darkly. Another figure approached. Infernal red eyes shone bright through the darkness and the faint gleam of metal could be seen emanating from the broad figure.

 **"Doesn't mean we should just let them waltz in here. If Nocturne and I go out there with a couple of minions then we would be able to impede them from encroaching any further and potentially disrupting our operations here."** The figure spoke with a distorted and modulated voice. Another entity, with blue shadowy eyes also appeared from nowhere and agreeing with his partner. He spoke in an astral, almost ghastly voice.

 **"Mordekaiser is right. Those mortals aren't weaklings like the soldiers the fool king sent and they definitely aren't some rag tag guild. We can't take the risk of them breaking in here. If they compromise our operation then our lord will be most displeased and there will more than likely be severe repercussions for our failure."** He warned. The figure who they both were in dialogue however, disagreed.

 **"No, I need you two here. I'm still not done extracting power from the Dae Crystal. Some of those human souls I used weren't enough so I need to use my own magic power to finish the process. I'll send my strongest detachment of minions after them. They'll slow them down. I need you two to act as a second line of defense. They will eventually get past but that will give me enough time to finish my work. Mordekaiser, I need you to arm that mana bomb. We don't need to leave any kind of evidence here and I don't want that filthy garbage getting their hands on anything that could expose the brotherhood."** The entity said. Mordekaiser let out a grunt of disproval.

 **"Since when do I take orders from you?"** He challenged and causing the figure's hellish eyes to flare. He gave another mocking grunt, un-phased by the spike of magical power. **"Very well, I'll do as you ask. Just know this, if your little plan goes up in smoke then it is you who will explain your failure to the master."** He said before disappearing along with Nocturne. Satisfied, the being focused his attention back on the orb.

 **"Yes, come little heroes. Come and embrace the pandemonium! Heh heh heh HU HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"** He cackled maniaclly.

* * *

 **Abandoned Pathway: Darrowmere Woods Downs**

They were cautious the moment they entered the lush woods. They immediately got down to business with Irvine, interfacing with his suit, called upon his helmet that piece by piece formed until it snapped shut with a hiss. A wide t shaped visor that glowed white and bladed accessories adorned the sides of where the ears were suppose to be, finishing his stylish appearance. Kai'Sa followed suit. She shared a symbiosis with the organic attire that she wore, allowing her to interface with it from her mind. Gray web like strings stretched and washed over her like sludge until it covered her entire face. A thin film of velvet opened in the middle revealing her facial features while an opening in the back allowed her long hair to flow down her back and breathe. Alex for whatever reason decided he didn't need his helmet for now but already had his greatsword and shield drawn while Luna allowed a wispy blue targeting reticule to form on her left eye. She had her bow and an arrow firmly grasped in her hand and positioned along the string of the ghostly weapon. As they walked further, Irvine held up an inclosed fist for them to stop. He spoke in a whisper.

 _"Alright here's how we're going to do this. Kisala, Luna, I want you up in those trees and covering us from there."_ He ordered. Kai'Sa nodded.

 _"On it."_ She said and making her way to one of the trees closest by. Luna followed suit.

" _If Aniu is going to be down here with you guys, then make sure you two look out for her. Don't worry though, if any of them are up there or hiding somewhere down with you guys, then we'll get to them before they can act."_ She said confidently. Irvine and Alex shook their heads in acknowledgment before Irvine addressed said wolf and his second command.

 _"Okay, you guys are with me. The ones they don't pick off are ours."_ He said before crouching down and meeting the lupine animal at eye level. _"You okay with that girl?"_ He said petting her. She gave a quiet snort that she was content on what he wanted. He smiled. _"Good."_ He said. The three of them watched the two girls scale the trees. Luna was kicking and launching her self from trunk to trunk with acrobatic prowess. It was something she picked up while down in the tropics of Kyrta one summer. Once she was at the top she jumped from the last trunk and grabbed hold of a limb, allowing her weight to let her body hang for a moment before sexily whirling herself upright and onto the thick long limb. Kai'Sa on the other hand fashioned claws from hand to toe and began her accent in a predatory fashion. She was fast about it too. Once she reached a sufficient height from the adjacent tree, she sprang from her position, reverse corkscrewing in the air before landing on her branch in a crouched position, similar to a lioness on the prowl. Both woman then took off into a silent sprint while the boys and wolf below them broke off into one of their own. As they progressed further, Luna caught the sight of a translucent clear figure perched up on one of the limbs. Wasting no time she took aim instantly and let an arrow fly. It whistled from the velocity before embedding itself in the head of the unknown assailant. The blue ethereal arrow stuck to the creature's head flared while dark black blood sprayed from the entry wound and revealing a Darkling Marksman. It's body sagged before going limp, allowing it's oddly shaped rifle to drop from it's hand. It let out a final monstrous choked gurgle before falling to it's death, causing the three below to stop instantly. The ocean haired sniper sucked in a gust of air before yelling out.

"Contact!" she screamed. All hell then broke loose. Several shots of darkness infused energy rung out in all directions forcing the two girls to find cover while dark bolts of magic energy assailed the group below them. Alex spun around and slammed his large tower shield into the ground to reflect the projectiles while Aniu and Irvine took cover behind him. Both boys gave each other a silent nod, understanding what was going to take place next. In a burst of speed, the ninja was off, Onimaru already drawn and leaving white afterimages behind him as he closed in on the nearest minion. The group of Darkling Grunts were unprepared. Flipping behind it he raised his sword in a stabbing motion before driving it through the small creatures head and flicking his wrist downwards, splitting it in two. He then flipped out of the way, narrowly avoiding more magic blasts from the creature's small wand like armaments and renewing his blinding assault once more. He bisected another with a skillful horizontal slash before focusing on a third, grinding his blade against the ground, launching himself, spinning in mid air with agile reflex and mincing the unfortunate creature into pieces. He felt heat in the back of his head as he crouched and brought his blade up to block a blow from a taller entity known as a Darkling Warrior. It brought the profane blade it wielded down hard, causing Irvine to struggle under it's bulk with teeth gnashed together. Two more were coming at him. That was until a familiar spiked shield slammed into the warrior, causing it to be taken off it's feet and careening back, finally coming to a rough tumbling stop. The worgen used one of his two magical affinities called Ground to send a colossal amount of earth along with the shield that coasted against the dirt ladened floor like a surf board and into the hapless darkling that took it in full force. Afterwards, Alex immediately set upon them with a mighty roar, shoulder checking one and staggering it before bringing Shalamayne down, two handed and chopping the nearest warrior's arm off along with a partial amount of it's torso, instantly felling the creature. Aniu in the background tore the neck off one while she pounced on another, mauling it to death. Irvine raised himself and got back to back with his best friend with Alex using the greatsword's special ability to split itself into two separate swords, Shalla'tor and Ellemayne. The two then became a whirlwind of steel and death. Alternating between, skillful footwork, blocking and exchanging strikes all in that order. In the midst of the carnage, Alex and Irvine found that they sandwiched one of the sword wielding minions. With a flurry of strikes Alex pressured the creature until he broke it's guard and with a mighty gale strike, blew it backwards into the clutches of his assassin friend. Irvine angled his leg, a sheathe of white energy surrounding his foot before twisting himself and driving it with sickening force into the creature's face, kicking it back to Alex. The armored behemoth of a worgen, turned himself slowly before winding up like a baseball player and driving his greatsword in an upwards arc, meeting the creature with a loud wet clank. The shinobi then boosted himself off the ground, getting an untold amount of air and aligning himself perfectly behind the creature. Grabbing it with an unbreakable grip, he turned the both of them towards the ground, spinning before driving the creature's head into the ground and causing it's head to crack completely like an egg, finishing one of his clan's most fabled arts, the Izuna Drop.

In the canopy, Luna and Kai'Sa were doing great work to keep the other darklings busy and ultimately off their compatriots. The creatures were having a hard time lining up shots and hitting the void woman with their focused fire as she dodged and titled her body with the grace of a ballerina while silhouettes of purple blanketed the trail behind her. She used their frustration and clumsy moves to her advantage. Angling herself on one of the trees she kicked off it, upside down before thrusting her void produced pistols forward and fired, showering a volley on top of them and causing their bodies to shake and jerk with violent movements due to the force of the impact and ending them swiftly. One of the creatures however was still alive. It tried in a vain attempt to grab her but she instantly picked it up and brought it into a choking lock. This didn't stop it's allies from firing. Finding something to grab on from behind the creature, she crouched down to avoid taking any of the hits. Seeing as they weren't going to let up, she did the only thing she knew would take all of them out in one fell swoop. Her gray organic wing like appendages flapped to her sides before the glowing violet openings began empowering void energy with a loud hum. With a flash of purple, dozens of thin beam like photons began peppering the marksmen and grunts, immediately atomizing their bodies followed by echoing explosions. It was her ability Icanthian Rain. Once she was sure they were all dead, she broke the creature's neck with a gruesome crunch that she had in her possession before letting his body fall into a crumbling heap.

Out of all of them, Luna probably had the biggest body count. Before most of them could squeeze off a shot at her, she instantly dropped them with the precision of a killer with years of experience. She leaned back, allowing a ray of darkness to pass by her before shooting another arrow from the odd position she was in, sending yet more of the fool hearty creatures to Hades. She alternated between cover and using the thick branches and large bushes to throw them off. She didn't realize one of them had got the jump on her. She reacted in time to back hand a dark needle like object. She frowned in contempt as she realized it was stuck to her armored arm. She yanked it out before tossing it below. The marksman drew two more of the needle like objects as it advanced toward her, intending for a knife fight. A savage grin then graced her beautiful lips as she raised Managarmr over her shoulders and back into it's resting place. She then summoned her two daggers Dáinsleif and Mistilteinn.

"Sure you can hang? It'd be pretty sad if I dropped you like I did the rest of those flunkies." She taunted. The creature let out a nasty snarl.

 **"Shut your mouth you clever bitch! You and your wretched comrades will pay for killing my brothers!"** It yelled angrily. Luna let out a laugh, tossing one of her daggers up and down before spinning it in mid air and catching it skillfully.

"That a fact? Well, it's like the saying goes fugly, put your money where **YOUR MOUTH IS!"** She thundered before rushing the creature. She had to admit, it was doing well to stay alive for the time being and it definitely wasn't like the rest of it's buddies that she sent to hell. She started with blinding machine gun stabs in it's direction. It managed to dodge a few but they were coming with such strength and speed that it had to focus on either parrying or ultimately blocking her blows. Seeing a tiny window of opportunity from the brutal assault the creature got low and tried to take her legs out from under her with a sweeping kick but she caught wind of it and flipped backwards, intending to catch the creature with a speeding foot. It leaned it's head back avoiding the foot but she too caught onto that. Time seemed to slow down as she twisted her body around, performing everything in one fluid motion. Turning her face to one side where one eye was visible, she let one of her daggers loose, grazing the cheek of the creature before it found itself in one of the trees with a loud thunk. Seeing that she was off balance, it rushed forward with terrifying speed, swinging wildly and with renewed fury, putting her on the defensive. She end up tripping and falling backwards, causing the creature to let out a triumphant laugh before setting upon her. While it did have the advantage of having her in a precarious position, none of it's strikes were meeting their mark as she weaved her body to and fro to avoid the blows. It then aimed low, a little too low, making her spread her legs wide and causing one of the needles to embed itself in the limb, close to her lady parts.

"Heh, who knew mindless monstrosities could be pervs." She joked. Seeing that the creature was stunned from her outburst, she wrapped her legs around it's neck like a boa constricting it's helpless meal and instantly snapped the bones in the elongated flesh that attached itself to it's head before it could retaliate. Both of it's arms slumped down to it's sides with it taking a dirt nap permanently. **"Game over..."** She said coldly.

* * *

Countless time seemed to pass but they eventually wiped out the darklings that were sent after them and made it to their destination. It was a rock formation but there seemed to be no entrance.

"Whew, that wasn't half bad for a warm up." Luna said wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. Alex spoke up next.

"Indeed. I see why they were able to give the guardsman so much trouble. Even with a well assembled detachment, they would have given anyone a hard time." He stated thoughtfully. Kai'Sa along with Irvine were more focused on the rock formation with Kai'Sa voicing her thoughts.

"Ma3a? Are you sure this is the place? Not seeing anywhere that we could enter?" She questioned. Ma3a came once again came into view and answered.

"Positive, energy readings are off the scale, wait hang on...what's that noise?" She said in alarm. They area around them began to vibrate and shake with a loud rumble, making them jump into battle ready positions. Part of the rock face began to raise itself and revealing a wide dark entrance. They all watched until it was fully raised.

"Well, if that doesn't spell trap..." Luna quipped. Irvine however was quick to respond.

"Doesn't matter. Even if it is one, we'll be ready for it. Here's our entrance, lets go." He finished. With that, the four set off into the decrepit darkness. Uberknownst to them, the sinister forces leading the darkling attack were already expecting them.

 **Upcoming Chapter: Chapter 3: Unsettling revelation and journey to the Nakhiti Deserts.**

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well, that's it for chapter 2. Hope you liked it. You can review, tell me what you think, silently read it or don't at all xD! Either or is fine. Just a heads up, I got classes soon so development on this will be slower but I won't be stopping at all unless something in real life really calls for me to manage my time towards that. Plus I do work so I have to factor in all of that as well.**

 **If anyone is wondering how Ma3a knew about the entrance, it's because the guild already had an idea of what their assignment was about. They just didn't know the full details. Once they got to Jarvan's and heard the four o one, she put two and two together and bam. I'll probably save adding any fun trivia or one of the things I mentioned in my previous note for chapter 3 or maybe a future chapter. Another thing, I did edit my previous chapters as well as this one. I tried a format that was a preference but I had noticed before anyone told me anything that it didn't look right. It did when I initially edited but it came out wrong when I published.**

 **Once again thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**

 **Giorgio~**


	4. Scenic Routes and Procrastination

**Chapter 2B: Scenic Routes and Procrastination!**

 _"I want to be the person that my baby sister can look up to. If I can't be one to the ones closest to me then I have no business trying to for my people."_

 _"Quote from Demacia's Might Hero and leader Lux or Luxanna Rosawiese Piproxu"_

 **Chapter 2B Summary : Just a short look into what the rest of Aesir's Edge is up to while on their way back to the capital city. Klonoa, Ekko and Zoe get excited about a carnival going on in Evenmoor Terrace while passing through the Southern Demacia Region. Sidetracking and unexpected shenanigans ensues much to Akali's adamancy.**

 **Durasteel Coach Train: Westerly Ramparts**

The Cloud Kitsune sighed as the gust of air blew his white tipped glove like end behind his shoulder that was attached to a longer black furred appendage. He reached for his hat that was blue in color with the symbol of Pacman on it, grabbing it from the rim and spinning it around before pressing it snuggly back onto his head. His slitted golden eyes scanned the mountainous peaks parallel to them and alternated to the gleaming ocean below as the train sped on. He opened the window and allowed the crisp evening air to buffet his face. The gentle breeze felt nice, blowing the small frame of needle like patch of white fur on his cheeks backwards along with the funny looking black and white tipped ears. He would have enjoyed the peaceful evening more if not for his boredom. Painstakingly boredom. He was so bored that he made up a make believe disease called boredomitis, (symptoms include chronic sitting on your fanny while waiting for something eventful to come along that never comes to pass. May induce uncontrolled bouts of nothing to do with the eventuality of becoming a gibbering lunatic of perpetual repetition). Maybe that was a little over reaching and too much imagination, (that and reading too much of Professor Heimerdinger's book of Super Serious Ailments of Serious Serious Man Series). Truth be told, he wanted to stay behind with Irvine's group. The mission they went on sounded like it would have been a blast and given him a chance to show case some of the teachings he passed onto him in hopes of impressing the man who he looked up to as an older brother and role model. Instead he got told that it'd be a little more dangerous than the norm that they're use to. That and he made the point that Akali and Jayce along with the rest of them would need him for the mission they took.

 _"Yeah... you call pointing a finger at a haggard old bandit and watching him keel over from *BANG!* a grade A assignment?"_ He fumed internally _. "Guy probably couldn't fight his way out of a toilet let alone fighting a guild."_

Even though they were bandit scum that were terrorizing innocent folk, he did hope that he didn't give the poor old man a heart attack. In general, he just wished he'd stop treating him like a kid sometimes. He and his other younger companions would never grow or get stronger if they kept getting these lame missions. I mean yeah, it'd look good on the rankings but most of that hogwash was just for formalities. He wanted cold hard proof that he could tackle even the nastiest of circumstances. As he rambled on in the confines of his own thoughts, two cream colored hands clasped themselves over his eyes like pressed pancakes and causing him to shift lightly due to being caught unawares. His lips slanted a little, already knowing who it was.

"Guess who?" The voice said in a girlish giggle. He on the other hand tried to pry her hands loose gently, only for them to be slapped back onto his eyes. He let out another disgruntled wisp of air before entertaining the girl's response.

"I know it's you Zoel. Come on, not really in the mood to play." He said politely but with an edge of snippy to it. Zoel was short for her full name and was kind of his pet name for her. The rest of the guild called her Zoe or sugar charged wild thing. Seeing that he was being no fun she puffed her cheeks out. She was leaned over from the seat behind his. Deciding that his grumpy Mc Downer Pants mood was a no go, she acrobatically reached both hands and arched herself upside down into a hand stand before flipping over and landing with a loud cushion like thump beside him. She began poking his face, not liking his mopey attitude one bit and causing his right eyebrow to twitch spastically.

"What's the matter with you? You've been like this ever since we got on the train?" Zoe demanded. Klonoa, instead of answering her immediately put a hand under his chin and focused back on the window.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." He said dismissively. She made a feminine like head movement with her hands on her hips with a no he just didn't kind of look. Seeing that he wasn't willing to budge from conversation, she went onto plan b. Klonoa felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head, sort of like a six sense when someone is staring at you or attempting to do something in your blind spot. He unfortunately didn't react in time to being speared and pinned against the seat. His eyes were wide before his eyelids slanted into squints. What started off as short pffts and hushed chuckles turned into a full blown bellow of laughter. She was tickling him. Not just anywhere. It was in two of his weak spots. She'd keep it up until he relented.

"Coochi coochi coo cochichichichichichi coo!" She said as if she were a ferret hyped up on energy drinks, hands moving as if they were sped up by 100x. Klonoa had tears of laughter and pain from the sensation that was causing the upset.

"Ahahahahahaha! HA HA! Zo hahahaha Zoe alright, alright I'll tell you ha ha..." He said almost out of breath. She slowed down before coming to a complete stop. She curled her fingers and raised them to emphasis her point if he kept it up but he put a hand up to indicate that he got the message. They both then fell into silence, grinning at each other while the ends of Zoe's twilight infused hair fell over her shoulders and hovered over the kitsune's right cheek. Not wanting the pregnant pause to continue, Zoe spoke up.

"So spill it? What's got your feathers all in a tussy?" She asked. Klonoa's smile faltered a bit, his eyes finding their way to opposite side of where he laid.

"I just wish big bro would quit sending us on these easy missions." He said softly. "Yeah, it's money and renown but what if someone comes along that we can't handle because of inexperience? We'll be in a real jam then." She did agree that he had a point. Some of the missions lately were menial and downright boring at times. If they were to pull through during a dire time then they would need to be able to tackle tougher jobs.

"Maybe when we get back you should run your thoughts by him?" She suggested. He looked back at her but shook his head.

"No... he'd probably shoot it down and insist that I'm still not ready." He said dejectedly. She then grabbed both of his cheeks and forced him to look at her.

 **"Klonoa"** She said as drawn out as possible. "I got your attention?" She said intensely. He nodded albeit somewhat confused at her change in demeanor. She gave a light sigh. "Listen, Irvine can be unwavering sometimes but not unreasonable. It's honestly not going to hurt to run it by him. I mean, you never know what he'll say unless you voice what's on your mind, right?" Zoe said. He watched her for a few more seconds before smiling again.

"You're right. I guess it wouldn't hurt." He said relenting. She smiled back, getting off of him before their attention shifted to Akali grinning toothily from the seat in front of them and rocking her head side to side.

"Not interrupting anything am I?" She said teasingly and causing a small patch of red coloration to appear on both kid's noses.

"No idea what you're talking about sis, right Zoel?" Klonoa said quickly and fumbling with the rim of his hat while Zoe nodded profusely, nearly giving herself a headache.

"Yeah totally! Gawsh Akane, you say the darndest things." She said flabbergasted and causing the kunoichi to laugh heartily at their responses. She put a hand on her chin and focusing her brown eyes on the kitsune. He noticed and focused back with her speaking.

"Listen kiddo, I know you think the older bro is being a hardass but it's just like Zoe said, he has his reasons." She explained. "Trust me, I've been living with him practically all my life and know fore and for most that he's trying to keep you guys safe. As a guild leader he feels it's his responsibility to keep you kids out of unnecessary harm if possible. Not because he's trying to treat you guys like kids. He just cares, that's all. I was the same way when I was your age but I knew he just wanted what was best for me and I'm eternally grateful for it. I'm still learning though. He has had to bail me out of a couple of situations. Sometimes due to my own impulsiveness but I know he was just doing his part as the responsible older brother. " She said lovingly. Seeing as she still had both of their undivided attention she continued on. "When he feels you two and Ekko are ready, he'll let you come hang for the tougher jobs. Sis promises, kay?" She said giving him a wink and tipping a finger under his chin.

He nodded happily. "Okay!" He chimed. Jayce hearing the commotion, walked down from the seat he was in, still in his Full Metal Armor, (although un-helmeted) and placed his armored hand on Akali's head much to her disapproval.

"Yeah, there's no rush you guys. You definitely wouldn't want to end up like this one." He said snickering and rubbing her black hair. " Can't tell you how many times we had to pull her out of the fire." He joked and causing her to throw his hands off her head. Both of her eyebrows were raised in annoyance but the way the two went back and forth, you could tell it was all in playfulness and fun.

"Oh please, like we haven't had to save your hind end a couple of times." She shot back. A light bulb popped up-top of the Hextech Armorer's head before he realized what she was getting at.

"Hey, that time really sucked you know? Thought I was really going mess myself..." He said embarrassed. She on the other hand continued to remind him of his uselessness that time. It served him right for the joke.

"Yeah, unceremoniously being rendered impotent for combat because you had to crap was really great timing there? Absolutely heroic." She remarked at him jokingly and causing the two kids to laugh. His head hung in defeat. Not in a bad way but not being able to think of a come back towards the low blows.

"Alright alright, you made your point Azuma." He said before looking towards Ekko. "Hey Chronomere?! You've been awfully quiet over there? Don't have anything to add?" Hey said in a friendly manner. Ekko looked up from messing with the arm unit of his Timeshifter Project Armor. While he was in his normal entire, he had his right arm transformed.

"Huh? Oh!" He said as if being snapped out of a trance. "I don't really have any disagreements on how Irvine goes about things. He is the man with the plan, however? It wouldn't hurt to go on tougher assignments though. Easier missions just mean more down time for my tinkering." He said focusing his attention back on the bionic arm. "Dang it, why can't I get this to configure properly..." He cursed. Curious, Jayce walked over.

"Maybe I can help? What are you trying to do exactly?" He asked. Ekko looked up at him and back to his arm.

"I'm trying to divert power from other systems within my armor to my arm so I can improve the time distillation factor of my Timewinder Disc. Can't seem to find the proper output to balance out the amount I'm sending over." He said tapping various keypadded buttons on the arm. The hammer wielding hero was thoughtful for a second before something struck within him.

"Hmm... I know most users of Project Armor have a fusion generator built within the core of their suits." He said eying the green lens that was centered on his chest. " Try diverting 20% of power from it to your arm and run a loop cycle. Your internalized computer should do the rest and be able to allocate the proper amount to distribute without you running into a general protection fault error from overloading." He mused which caused Ekko to put a gloved hand to his chin.

"Never thought of doing that? Let's try it." He said with scientific interest. So far so good. He wasn't running into any of the messages that warned him of power unbalance that he had before. "Going to let it run like this for a little while but think this may just work, thanks Jayce!" He said happily and giving the older man a high five.

"Anytime kiddo. I could tell you some more stuff so you don't run into any more issues in the future while you're trying to run diagnostics or adjusting a setting to get better performance out it." He offered. The time manipulator nodded his head eagerly and listened on as Jayce talked. Over on the far side, Zoe adorned a look as if road kill uppercutted her nostrils due to the smell being horrendous.

"Nerds..." She grumbled. She turned around and raised an eyebrow at Klonoa and Akali. Wondering why they had gotten quiet all of a sudden, she followed their gaze to the windows,only for her mouth to drop open like her furry friend beside her. She let out a glee filled cry of joy as she saw what had them so mesmerized. Ekko and Jayce, wondering what all the commotion was all about wandered over too only for the both of them to fall silent as well. Everyone's eye lit up while smiles graced each and every one of their faces as they took in the view. It was a carnival. Mystical lights shone everywhere that probably would have given anyone an epileptic seizure from gazing at it for too long. Rides and buildings spread far and wide through the small town as they passed by. Klonoa and Zoe were the first to say anything with the twilight girl beating the kitsune to the punch.

"Pretty..." She said breathtaken. "Oooo oooo! Can we go, can we go?! Please?!" She exclaimed and moving her body up and down to show her excitement. Klonoa piped up too.

"Come on sis! I've never been on a ferris wheel before!" He said with fervor. Akali shook her head.

"No because what's going to be supposedly an hour is going to turn into a 24 hour occurrence. Plus, the next train probably won't be here until morning." She said concisely. The three kid's faces fell with Ekko being the next to speak up.

"Oh come on Akane? It's not like we're in a rush or have any urgent reason to be back." He moped. Akali sighed, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Yeah and that's exactly the problem. Something could come up while we're all there lollygagging around. Answer is no." She said, unyielding and causing them all to verbally shout out in sadness. Jayce then offered his input.

"The train is making a stop here before the royal capital. Unless Evermoor has changed since the last time I've been here then there should be other trains that make round trips back to the city as well. I don't think it'd really hurt Akali. I mean we got a little bit of time to kill so why not take a little reprieve? Jarvan has a way of reaching us should something come up that requires our intervention." He said before nudging her arm and causing her to grit her teeth in annoyance and looking up at the ceiling from being pressured. "Probably won't have another time like this?" He coerced further. She finally let up, seeing as they wouldn't stop begging.

"Alright fine! By the goddess Kikyo... all of you are such brats sometimes. 3 hours and no more. We're leaving after that! No ifs ands or buts about it, got it?!" She barked. They all screeched with joy with Klonoa and Ekko pumping their fists at each other at eye level while Zoe speared Akali with a hug. Jayce smiled at her with a hand on her shoulder, giving her a nod of approval. Akali however put a hand to her forehead and shaking it.

 _"My brother is so going to kill me..."_ She murmured.

 **Evermoor Terrace: Megaton City Carnival**

 **(Welcome to the big city: Klonoa 2/Under the Frontline: watch?v=aTM6jBs3qLo)**

The service station was crowded. To the point that it nearly made it hard to move around. The civilian populace were either headed to trains, shopping at the vendors or sitting down and conversing with themselves. They weren't really surprised. A carnival was going on so it was to be expected that Megaton would be packed at this hour. As the four walked on, Ekko took notice of a familiar figure talking with one of the ticket vendors. Two men who looked to be soldiers also accompanied her.

"Miss Caitlyn!" Ekko shouted. Caitlyn immediately snapped her head towards the sound of the shout. She tilted her hat up and squinted only for a warm expression to etch itself across features.

"Why hey there kiddo! Wasn't expecting to see you here?" She said embracing him as he ran up for a hug. She made a motion with her head towards the two soldiers. "You guys go on ahead into town, I'll catch up." She said. Both men gave her a salute before setting off. She then looked back at Ekko. "You've gotten a bit taller since the last I've seen you? Everything been okay?" She said. Ekko nodded with a smile.

"Yup!" He said cheerfully. "We just got back from a mission but we decided to drop by for the carnival!" He said before facing the others walking up. She did the same.

"Yeah, I was wondering who else was with you?" She said before walking up to Akali with the both of them giving each other an arm bump. "Well met Azuma! See you're still doing a good days work eh?" Caitlyn said. Akali nodded with a smirk.

"Heh, if you want to call mopping up some bandit fodders a good days work then I guess." She said amusingly before speaking some more. "So what bring's Piltover's Lionguard here?" She questioned. Caitlyn chuckled before answering her.

"The mayor needed an outfit here to make sure nothing went amiss during the carnival so me and my men are here patrolling the town. Don't usually like guard detail but hey? It's money." She said. A thoughtful expression then appeared on Akali's face.

"Vi isn't with you?" She said looking around with the Lionguard's commander shaking her head.

"She is but I have her out on patrol with a couple of soldiers. You'll probably see her if you go into town." She said before eyeing Jayce in the background. He was a fidgeting mess with a tint of red on his cheeks. With a sly smile she walked up to him, a little too close. "Heya handsome? Guess they dragged you here too huh?" She said and causing him to laugh nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. He loved her accent and the way she would address him everytime they conversed kind of made him, a little hot and bothered.

"Haha no no. I didn't mind. We were on our way back to the capital anyway and the kids wanted to come here for a little bit since we didn't have any particular reason to be back in a hurry heh heh.." He said sheepishly. Her face contorted into an even more seductive grin as she started running her fingers along his armor and making him even more uneasy.

"That So? Hmm hmm, Hey? So I was thinking maybe when you and I have some downtime and when you're not playing hero or babysitter, you can maybe come to Piltover and take me out for a couple of drinks?" She purred. For some reason he entered a minor coughing fit, having trouble finding his voice before finally mentally kicking himself with a 6 inch metal boot to the brain and manning up."

"Uh um yeah! Yeah! Absolutely! Wouldn't like anything better!" He exclaimed. Over on the far side Akali had an eyebrow arched with a smile and nudging Ekko which caused him to snicker as well. She didn't know why he always got so flustered when he talked with her. Her eyes then widened a bit as she forgot about the other two. Spinning around sharply she managed to catch a glimpse of the two far ahead of them. While they were too far to hear anything that they were saying, Zoe said something to the kitsune before they both broke off into a dash straight into town much to the kunoichi's horror.

"Hey you two! Don't go off on your own!" She yelled before sighing. She looked at Ekko and only got a shrug in response before looking back at the other two who had saw the whole thing. "Well, we better go before they get too far ahead. Catch you later Caitlyn she said before running after them with Ekko in tow. He waved and said goodbye to her as well.

"Cya Miss Caitlyn!" He shouted. Caitlyn waved before looking back up at Jayce and making a gesture with her head towards the direction they went.

"You should go." She said before putting a finger under his chin. "Call me when you get the chance." She said in a hushed manner. He was about to make a response back but looked on in puzzlement as she got even closer and leaned in. He then went bug eyed. While it wasn't long or drawn out, it was enough for him to go slack jawed before replacing it with a stupid grin. She gave him a passionate peck on the cheek before breaking it off and slowly walking in the opposite direction with a complacent smile. He watched her walk off, that crap eating grin still on his face before silently saying

 _"Man... didn't think she'd make the first move..."_

 **XX**

After visiting the many locales that the carnival had to offer, along with rides, (Klonoa having the misfortune of losing his dinner on a roller coaster) the group found themselves walking amongst the crowded town.

"Rides aren't all their cracked up to be huh?" Akali said amusingly and causing the black furred animal's face to adorn an even paler coloration. Zoe was eating on cotton candy while patting his back with a sympathetic smile.

"Your stomach is probably empty from all that hurling you did, here." She said trying to offer him a bite. He put a hand up and shook his head, not wanting to make his nausea resurface again.

 _"Ugh, never again..."_ He said morosely and causing them to chuckle. While the kids walked ahead of them, Akali and Jayce hung back with Akali speaking up.

"So when are you and Hartlova going to do the deed?" She said impishly and causing him to raise an eyebrow at her prodding.

"I'm not trying to get in her pants you barbarian..." He said defensively. "We're just taking it slow for now. Both of us are busy but there's no need for any rush." He said and causing her to shrug.

"Well you two aren't getting any younger. Should shag while you can." She said nonchalantly and causing his lips to slant.

"You know... you and your brother don't fit the norm for Ionian ninja." Jayce said and causing her to let out and a humored gust of air.

"Yeah we get that a lot. After all, he didn't always live in Ionia. He was a city boy before we found him after the incident. Being around him kind of grows on you hehe." She said happily and making Jayce use the opportunity to crack a joke that may have been a little too much.

"You have a lot of appraisal when it comes to him. Sure you're not a brocon?" He teased and causing her to glare at him, obviously not amused. He flinched at the the reaction. "It was just a joke Akali, relax..." He said with a small nervous laugh. She stared at him for a second longer, lips curled before exhaling.

"Yeah well it wasn't funny." She said before sighing. " Look, I love my brother. He's my everything and I don't think I could live in a world without him but I don't look at him any other way than that." She said and getting a prompt response back from him.

"I get it, hun. Trust me, I know he's a wonderful guy and it's good that you have a brother like him." He said honestly. He paused for a minute before indulging another question. "So what's the story with Cait and Ekko? How did they meet each other?" He said.

"His story is pretty much the same as Irvine's. He basically had no parents. Caitlyn found him on the streets of Piltover and took him in. They've been together ever since. Long story short, her the brother and I go way back so once she took notice of his knack for technology and keen intellect, she sent him down our way, figuring he'd be a good fit in the guild. Now here we are." She finished and causing him to nod.

"I see." He stated simply. As they walked, Akali was so absorbed in their conversation that she didn't see the person she was about to collide into and brushed roughly against his shoulder causing the both of their eyes to meet for a short timespan.

"Oh sorry, excus..." She said trailing off. He wore a black cloak with a hood covering most of his features but that's not the thing that was unnerving her. While one eye was the color of onyx, the other was a nightmarish red. His whole aura was wrong, as if it radiated the very concept of evil itself. He looked familiar as well but she couldn't place a hand on how. As brief as their short encounter started, it ended with the both of them walking onwards. She stopped and glanced back at the mysterious man only for him to be nowhere in sight and causing Jayce to walk up with a hand clamped firmly on her shoulder and startling her.

"Everything alright?" He said in concern. She nodded.

"Yeah..." Akali said. _"Who was that man? I feel like I've seen him somewhere before..."_

 **Megaton Archives, Relic Chambers**

The cloaked figure wasted no time finding the place where his bounty lay. Not caring whether there was anyone nearby or if the box that laid in it's glass resting place had countermeasures in place, he smashed it, retrieving the item from the stand that it sat on.

 _"What a bunch of blithering bafoons. It's obvious they have no clue what this does or else they would have had tighter security here."_ He said brandishing a hand from his cloak and palming the cube in his hand. _"Well, no need to tarry here any longer."_ He stopped as he heard the door swing open. He turned to see a pink haired woman with metal gauntlets larger than her head and Lionguardsmen walk in.

"I seriously can't wait until this damn carnival is over." She said talking to one of her soldiers. " Geezus, out of all the assignments Cait could have had us on she choo... hey you listenin..." She said before deadpanning as she saw what had her guardsman's attention. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Sup? You take a wrong turn somewhere?" She said tersely with another guard chiming in along with her.

"This is a restricted area! You need to leave at once!" He ordered. Looking further, the soldiers caught a glimpse of the broken glass and what he had in his hand, causing another to shout.

"Capn Vi! He has the Hextech Box!" He yelled and causing the rest of them to draw their swords. Vi took a threatening step forward.

"Gee, thank you for stating what I already didn't see." She said before focusing her attention back on the man. "Drop it..." She hissed and causing a menacing laugh to escape him.

"Aww, don't be that way taicho-san, I just wanted a hands on examination of it. Can't blame me for being able to break in here due to the incompetence of your lackies." He said chastising her. Vi on the other hand closed her eyes with a slick grin.

"Smart ass huh?" She said before leaping in a burst of blinding speed and closing the distance between the two quickly, smashing the ground with her gauntlets that caused splinters of wood to fly in different directions and putting a sizable hole on the floor below them. He narrowly avoided the attack, back flipping like a wheel in drive out of the way and landing on a desk in a crouched position, cube still in hand. Everything then happened in a short time span. Charging her gauntlets with arcane power, she bounced off her initial point of impact and flew right towards him, using her momentum to twirl her body before rocketing a fist towards him. The sound of clashing metal could be heard as he brought an object to bear to counter the punch and causing her pink colored eyes to widened in shock. She didn't know when he summoned it or how he made it appear in thin air but he intercepted her blow with a large scythe.

"Shit..." She cursed. He then got dangerously close to her face and causing her lips to frown in disgust.

"Too slow taicho-san..." He taunted. With abnormal strength he maneuvered the edge of the scythe so it cupped her gauntlet and swung it around, with her still latched on before throwing her with vicious force against a wall and causing her to go half way through it with only her legs being visible through it.

"Capn!" One of the guards shouted before directing his angry gaze at the scythe wielding assailant. "Detain him!" He shouted furiously. The figure smirked darkly at this. Agonized screams could then be heard shortly afterwards.

 ** XX**

One of the Lionguardsmen radioed in to Caitlyn about a situation in the archives. She and the soldiers with her walked in to see the aftermath of what had apparently took place. She saw that the case holding the Hextech Cube was completely shattered along with it being missing. She brought her rifle up, nerves set to their upmost threshold. Scanning the area, ready to fire on whoever had did this, should they still be present.

"By Melandru... it looks like a tornado's been through here..." One of the soldiers said. Caitlyn looked back at him before scanning around the room again.

"All of you spread out and check if any of these soldiers still have a pulse." She said before training her light blue eyes on the broken wall. Curious she walked over before shouldering her rifle and running over, instantly recognizing who it was.

"Vi!" She exclaimed, hoisting her up and causing the latter to cough. "Are you alright?! What happened?" The Lionsguard Commander said in alarm. Vi opened her eyes and put a hand on the side of her head, feeling a throbbing headache coming on.

 _"Some guy in a black robe, hooded... damn good, really good. Wiped the floor with me and my men, took the Hextech Cube. Don't know where he ran off to._ " She said in a raspy voice. Caitlyn cursed harshly.

"Damn it! I need to warn the mayor and stop this carnival. I had told him it was a mistake taking that thing in. I knew something wasn't right about it the moment they hauled it in here. Aesir's Edge is here so I'm going to see if they can chip in and get the cube back from whoever this bastard is." She said as she helped Vi up.

"You go on ahead, I'll clean up here and round up any remaining soldiers out on patrol. Let them know this is a Code Red." She said with Caitlyn nodding before taking a couple of soldiers and making her way to the mayor.

 **XX**

Everyone was gathered around a stage. On it was a man who looked to be a spokesman of some sort. He stood in front of a large curtain with lights illuminating his image. The four managed to find a clearing away from the crowd to get a better view of the show.

"Welcome, men woman and children alike! And thank you again for coming to Evermoor's 5th annual extravaganza!" He screamed out jubilantly and causing a choir of cheers and claps to echo out within the crowd. "As you all know, with each carnival and towards it's end, we always have something extraordinary to show you. No magic tricks, talent show or music this time. No this is something unprecedented. A treasure that couldn't be described as a rarity." He said as he continued on with his over the top description. Back over yonder, the four had started to talk quietly amongst themselves.

 _"Oh geez, enough with the bravado already, just reveal the dang thing..."_ Zoe said impatiently with Klonoa being next to speak up, not feeling sickly like he was before.

 _"I wonder what it is? He makes it sound as if it's something no one's seen before?"_ He mused thoughtfully while Ekko made a reply to his assessment.

 _"Doubt it Noa. Probably something run of the mill. Think he's just being extra for the crowd."_ The time manipulator said dismissively with Klonoa agreeing.

 _"Yeah, he does seem like he's exaggerating a bit huh?"_ He whispered before the both of them got shushed.

 _"Quiet, he's about to reveal it."_ Akali said before they all directed their attention back to the spokesman.

"Ladies and gentleman! I present to you the Hextech Cube!" He said as the curtains began to open and causing a large amount of whispers to resound through the crowd.

 _"Hextech Cube...?"_ Jayce said absolutely awestruck. Ekko mirrored his amazement.

 _"Well guess I can stick my foot in my mouth now too, this is news to me as well. Guessing it's some new form of Hextech technology.."_ He said before going silent along with the rest of his compatriots and the crowd. There was nothing there except an empty stand on where it should have been. The spokesman had a dumbstruck expression, looking at the spot and back to the crowd.

"I'm terribly sorry good people, there seems to be a problem, just a moment." He said hurriedly before walking over to his assistant. _"What in the blazes is going on?! Did that woman forget that the cube was suppose to be at this spot at 9?"_ He said with growing impatience. The assistant shook his head with a frown.

 _"She was on her way here Mr Joilant I assure you. Maybe madame Vi got held up somehow?"_ He stated. As they talked, an approaching Caitlyn along with the mayor came up to the crowd.

"Have your men still not located this rumble rouser?!" He said panicking as they walked with Caitlyn turning her head to acknowledge him.

"No mayor, I got them tearing this town apart trying to search for him. I assure you that we'll have this matter resolved." She said in frustration. He on the other hand wouldn't let up.

"Well he needs to be found commander. Your captain was suppose to have the archives locked tight, how did he manage to slip through all of them?!" He said exasperately. She was almost at her limit of patience.

"If I knew that, then he'd be dead already. We had the proper security set in place and every nook and cranny covered that he could have gotten into. I told you before hand something was off about that thing..." She said heatedly and causing him to balk at her explanation.

"That's why he needs to be found and detained immediately! If it's allowed to get into the wrong hands then there's no telling what kind of trouble it'd cause!" He said even more frantically. Caitlyn spun on her heel and grabbed the short portly man by the shirt.

"Alright you need to start talking now? What the hell is that thing and why did you drag it here into town, potentially putting these people at risk? I have four men dead trying to protect whatever that piece of crap is." She said venomously and causing him to break out into a cold sweat. Before he could answer, she caught sight of the four guildies in the distance.

"Oh thank heavens! I've been looking for you guys." She said letting go of the mayor's shirt and running over with the four of them meeting her halfway.

"Hartlova, what's going on?" Akali said suspiciously and causing her to adorn a grim expression.

"Someone broke into the archives and took that cube. Vi and her men tried to stop him but somehow he managed to overpower her and killed four of my people before making a run for it." She said bleakly. Jayce was next to speak up.

"We can chip in and help. If he's around here somewhere then we'll find him. If they were brazen enough to storm in here with security like this and be willing to kill people to get that cube then it's best that we don't allow him to make off with it." He said with the two woman agreeing as well. Before anything else could be said, a shout rung out from Klonoa.

"Up there! Look!" He said pointing. They as well as the crowd directed their attention to the roof of the stage to find the mysterious figure perched above it. His features were darkened with one eye glowing an ominous white while the other a devilish ruby red. In his hand sat the cube. Vi and the rest of her guard caught up with the rest of them only for them to stop as they saw what had everyone's attention. The figure spoke, voicing a grave warning to all of them.

 **"Look at all the little roaches gathered here. Bristling around, stumbling about without a clue. Yes here's your precious Hextech Cube. Sadly it won't be in your company any longer. My master has better uses for it instead of it being on circus display for a bunch of ignorant simians. Great things will happen soon. You can either embrace it or be dragged into the incoming dark along with the other faithless."** He spoke with zealotry. Aesir's Edge as well as Caitlyn and Vi had their eyes narrowed, already knowing where this was headed.

"Arrogant jackass... honestly the pair on him." Vi said viciously and causing Akali to step up.

"So that's the guy? I actually bumped into him while we were walking in the streets. I knew something was off about him the moment I laid eyes on him." She said starting to reach for her two kamas sheathed near her lower back and butt. Caitlyn quickly interjected.

"If you guys can keep him busy until we get the civies out the way then you can go wild." She said before the mayor cut in.

"Now just a minute? You can't just start destroying things left and right?! The cost of the damages is going to be astronomical!" He said in horror. Caitlyn's face had taken a gate of upmost fury.

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to show the damn thing off in the ci..." She barked before being cut off from a scream by one of the people. They all looked in time to see the figure boomerang his large scythe towards one of the ferris wheels that hovered over the town and causing Caitlyn to quake in terror.

"NO DON'T!" She screamed in vain as the others stared on gobstruck. While the scythe didn't completely rip the ferris off it's hinges it caused it to lean dangerously from the cut while the people still in it screamed bloody murder.

"Crap! You guys stay down here and try to stop that thing and get those people off of it! I'll handle him." Akali said before any of them could protest and disappearing in a wisp of jade green colored leaves.

 **Rooftops: Akali vs Mysterious Stranger**

 **Showdown under the Gibbous Moon/ DJ Will Vega - Akuma - Killing Moon After Glow Remix ( watch?v=m8N0orerlns)**

The green garbed assassin appeared on the rooftop with a graceful swirl, scattering the jade leaves in different directions with her arms angling her twin kamas Kasumi and Shizuru. He smirked amusingly at her flashy entrance as he watched her get into a stance. She raised one at chest level while she lowered the other near the waist. It was a variation of her sister Ayame's Azuma-Ryu kenjutsu style that she tailored to her own liking and calling it (Danshingu Hisui Ha Shi, literally meaning Dancing Jade Leaves of Death). Slowly the two shifted towards each other, sizing one another up.

"You can make this easy by handing the cube over or don't. Either way, you're not getting away with killing those soldiers and putting innocent lives in danger." She said getting closer and causing him to laugh before making a snide remark.

"Heh, as fickle as ever I see. Still holding onto that weak sense of justice? Truly a pity." He taunted and causing killing intent to be ever more present on her face.

"Why the hell are you going on as if I know you? Who are you?" She said coolly. At this, he tapped the side of his head with a curled finger.

"Who knows?" He said sarcastically. Having enough of the man's games, Akali threw the kama Kasumi at him, prompting him to tilt his head to the side. His eyes widened in alarm as she disappeared from view.

"What...?" He gasped before pivoting sharply around as she materialized in a body shaped green image due to the speed she was moving at. Catching the kama in hand, she swung it in a cleaving arc, forcing him to bring his scythe to bear, blocking it with said object upside down. As quick as lightning, he took a step back, spinning his scythe and making a sweeping blow, causing her to disengage and dip low as if she were playing a game of how low can you go. She was stomach first against the ground before using both hands to twirl her self into a drill like fashion, sending a straight kick towards his face and causing him to somersault away. Not giving him a chance to get away, she used her clan's signature dashing technique to close the distance between the two, leaving green afterimages behind in the same fashion as her brother. As she got closer, she began to perform different sets of flips before launching herself in the air in a front flip, spinning like a shuriken and bringing her kamas down dual handed with as much strength as she could muster. She caught nothing but air as he disappeared in a thick fog of black smoke and causing her to crash down with a thundering boom. She immediately reoriented herself, eyes on full alert.

 _"Darn... come on Akane, focus, he's here somewhere."_ She said as she composed herself and allowed her ki to reach out in an attempt to detect him before he caught her unawares. Her brown eyes darted to and fro like a computer processor. Something went off in the back of her head as she turned around in time to bring both of her kamas up for a block.

"Over here!" He said before kicking her with tremendous force, sending the Azuma kunoichi bowling over into a tumbling roll, causing bits of the roof to be taken off from her impact. She backflipped and slammed the weapons against the ground before coming to a skidding halt, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

The two would then become a blur as they charged each other again, with he, using a combination of roundhouse kicks, scythe strikes and other unorthodox methods of attacks, causing her to be put on the defensive. Seeing an opening, she caught one of his roundhouses and went into a handstand before launching off said leg, using her momentum to flip herself and bringing her heel down with thunderous pressure on the scythe and causing the man to be slightly rooted to the roof. He smiled viciously as he used the opportunity to attempt to hack her in two but seeing the danger she was in, she jumped off it, angling her body so that it was parallel to the ground, the scythe missing her by inches and making a shallow gash on her back. She landed in a crouch before rushing him again and the two locking weapons together. They were evenly matched in the struggle before both pushed each other back, coming to a sliding stop.

 **A few minutes before Akali and the mysterious stranger's initial clash**

"Can't ever catch a break!" Jayce said as he brandished his magnetic hammer Thorim. "Ekko! Zoe! Slow that thing down asap! Klonoa! Try to get as many people off the wheel as you can!" He roared as the ferris wheel titled further, hinges and moorings buckling and beginning to loosen their grip. The screaming civilians inside weren't making matters easier. The other three wasted no time. Ekko shifted into his project armor while Zoe flew through the air with Klonoa holding her hand.

"Come on Z drive, don't fail me now!" He said hurriedly as he began charging energy in his Timewinder Disc. When it was sufficiently charged, he slung it in the direction of the falling ferris wheel, before sprinting to a building closest to the hazard and wall running. Using it as leverage, he leaped from it, grabbing hold of one of the ends of the wheel. Once his Timewinder Disc embedded itself in the metal of the wheel, he used the built up power in his suit to unleash his Parallel Convergence ability. Blue energy then washed over the ferris wheel and enveloped it in a dome that slowed it's decent down by 60% but it wouldn't be enough.

"Zoe, Klonoa hurry!" He yelled with urgency. Zoe looked down at Klonoa and received a nod of approval from him.

"Don't mess this up Noa! Here we go!" She said spinning like a hurricane before throwing him above the ferris wheel. She herself, started whispering an incantation, that was so fast that no one would have been able to follow it and enabling her to use her Portal Jump ability. She instantly appeared on top of Ekko's spherical dome before reciting another litany.

"Alright you hunk of inanimate junk! Time to go stasis for good!" She echoed before slapping a hand down. Yellow energy began to glow from her palm and got brighter and louder as seconds passed. **"Extreme Magic! Mega Sleepy Trouble Bubble!"** She boomed and causing the blue doom to take on a dark shade of purple, complimented by the appearance of stars all over it and a golden ring swirling below it. While the ferris wheel came to a snails place, the people would still need to be removed from the falling death machine. That's where Klonoa came in.

Using his signature Wind Ring, he allowed himself to free fall upside down, until he was leveled with the slow falling wheel. Taking careful aim, he was able to get off three wind bullet shots at the carriages, pumping them full of air but not enough to make them explode. Any inanimate object or being with magical power lesser than his own that's shot with a wind bullet will be blown up full of air. He can control the amount that's pumped into them at will as well as being able to freely manipulate whatever he currently has pumped full of air. The affected object also is virtually weightless.

Seeing that he had the three carriages snagged, with a swipe of his hand, he sent them on their way, safely below and dispelling the effect once they touched down. Seeing as he was nearly about to be a pancake and roadkill, he aimed the Wind Ring back to the ground, shooting another bullet and causing him to be launched at high speed back towards the wheel. After the last remaining civilians were safely detached from the wheel, he smiled in satisfaction before being grappled into a hug by Zoe, with her squishing her cheek against his and keeping him from plummeting towards the ground again.

"You did it!" She said cheerfully with him chuckling with one eye closed at the affection.

"Yup!" He said mirroring her only for it to disappear. "Oh no! The spell is becoming undone! Uncle Jayce!" He yelled down bellow and getting a loud grunt from him in response.

"Already on it kiddo!" He exclaimed back. Copious amounts of lightning began pouring from out the hammer as he thrusted it towards the falling giant piece of metal, streaks of lightning raking the bottom of it. He let out a strained grunt as he struggled under it's bulk. "Test your strength my zopha! Ngggh!" His expression softened a bit as he felt the weight become somewhat lighter. He dared himself to look for the cause only for Vi to come into view. She was holding another end up, her gauntlets crackling and snapping with arcane power that brimmed within it.

"Thought you could use a hand! On three, we chuck this damn thing into the ocean, you ready?!" She said through breathes. He nodded with a confident grin. She then screamed out.

"THREE!" With a mighty roar from both of them, they sent it sailing at high speed. With it out of sight, they all visibly relaxed, nearly out of breath.

"Sheesh...g-getting way too old for this." Jayce said tiredly. Vi laughed at his response.

"Hahaha! Don't tell me y-you're tired after that ha...ha.." She said between pants. "Wasn't even a work out..." She finished and causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Is that why you're panting?" He said before looking around. " I'm guessing Cait and the soldiers were able to get everyone away from here?" He said with Vi agreeing.

"Yeah we both did while you guys were handling the wheel. I came back because I thought you guys could use the help. Speaking of which... oh shit, Azuma! We need to go back her up!" She said suddenly and causing Jayce to mentally smack himself.

"Completely forgot about her! Kids we need t..." He tried to say but he saw that they were already in tow.

 **XX**

Akali along with Zoe, Klonoa and Ekko surrounded the hooded figure. They had all apparently gotten done around the same time Akali and the thief, broke off from their lengthy scuffle.

"Give it up, you're surrounded and there's going to be more on the way. It's over." She said precisely. He simply frowned at this and causing them the four of them to tense up.

"Yes yes, stupendous work." He said sarcastically. " You stopped my little distraction like the good little heroes you are. I'll let you in on something little cub?" He said addressing Akali. "I've only been using 20% of my true power during our fight but if all of you are so eager to die, I can show you what really lurks beneath this skin of mine. It is then...it is then that you'll know **TRUE DESPAIR!"** He said maniacally as his red eye glowed an even more infernal red and causing Klonoa and Zoe to recoil back in fear while Akali and Ekko got in front of them defensively.

 **XX**

As the figure got ready to show them exactly what he meant, something appeared behind him and grabbed his hand. They all stared apprehensively at the new entity. It looked like a hideous combination of bat and demon mixed together to form some unholy hybrid. His large heavily armored hand kept the man firmly rooted in place as he tried in vain to free himself from his grip. Demon like wings flexed threateningly.

 **"That's enough. You've wasted enough time here and there's no need for you to use that form on these weak mortals. We got what we came for, let's go."** The creature said and causing the man to argue back.

"You may be the herald of our lord but last I checked, I didn't take orders from you Aatrox." He said still trying to move but was still rooted in place. Aatrox got closer to his face but the younger man didn't shirk away from it. An aura of dark magical pressure began to form around the two, causing chills to snake their way through the other four.

 **"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. This isn't up for debate... we're leaving unless you want to explain to his dark majesty why it took you so long to retrieve the cube."** He said forcefully and causing the man to lose his patience.

"You better let go of me Aatrox! I'm not some nip sucking child that needs to be followed by the likes of you or told what to do!" He said almost brimming with hatred. They both stared at each for an unhealthy amount of time before the demon let go. Sparing him one last glance, the half and half eyed man focused back on the guild.

"This is your temporary stay of execution. If we meet again which I'm sure we will, it'll be your last little cub." He said before the both of them disappeared with the cube into a portal. They all looked bewildered as they watched them go, causing Akali to drop to her knees with her hands on the coverings of the roof.

"Sis! Are you okay?!" Klonoa said coming to her side and kneeling. Worry etched on his features. The other two followed suit. She was sweating profusely.

 _"By the goddess, I've never felt such power. It was almost suffocating. Who were those people... and why does that man look so familiar?... I- I need to get back to him, I have to tell him..."_ She thought to herself hastily. One thing was for certain, everything had just gotten a lot more complicated.

 **Still Upcoming Chapter: Chapter 3 Unsettling revelation and journey to the Nakhiti Deserts. :P :P :P**

 **Author's Note:**

 **Luna's birthday was Thursday so that's what brought this chapter on mostly. Few things and bare with me for the long author's note please. I made a pronunciation error in my older chapters. Shiruma is suppose to be Shurima haha so sorry about that. Think of it as slight translation error from a manga. I'll be sure not to make the mistake in future chapters. Even though OC stands for original character, I use it to describe any characters I add from any other series simply because they aren't characters that are apart of whatever series I'm writing for and to put emphasis that they are from another series.**

 **Just like I stated in my disclaimers , those kinds of characters do not belong to me and aren't mine. They are there because I've really liked them and thought they would make a good edition to the story. Luna, Irvine and Alex are original. Klonoa isn't and again, I don't claim him. Second thing, I didn't like the idea of a possible Ezreal and Zoe pairing in the future so sorry if anyone ships them. It won't be in the story but I have plans for him. Just don't know with who yet.**

 **Classes are in and tomorrow along with next week are probably going to be really busy for me so again, no e.t.a on Chapter 3 or when I'm going to find time to sit down and actually write about it. When I catch some down time or another break, I'll get started on it. After all, quality over quantity.**

 **That's all. If you've been reading this story or following it so far, then I really do appreciate it. Means a lot if someone is taking the time to read it. I know my work won't appeal to everyone. Still I'm really appreciative for anyone who is though. Some I know some that I probably don't who are reading in secret. You guys are the ones that keep me going.**

 **Putting two themes that I thought of for Lux and Aatrox before I close this out. Thank you for reading and see you again on the next chapter!**

 **PS: TLDR. Stay ur arses in school and get that lesson! O: O: O: !**

 **Aatrox's Theme: Harbinger of Doom/ Different Type by Magicxbeats ( watch?v=UYjGLqKK-58 &t=30s)**

 **Lux's Theme: Runterra's Greatest Mage/ Asis Galvin's:BOTBs TE 2 - RD 1 CreativeNature90) Entry by CreativeNature90 ( watch?v=l0gmcqNbTxg)**


	5. Inner Monologue and Backstory Stuff

**Inner Monologues and more Backstory stuff.**

 **I figured I'd start writing again and as we speak I'm writing this latest chapter now but I'm probably going to find a stopping point because I do want to get back on Warframe before today gets out but I will be working on this throughout the week. It may be done sometime in the week or this next weekend. This really isn't a chapter update, rather something I wrote a long time ago and figured I'd be worth putting up while anyone who still checks on this from time to time, wait's for a new chapter to be put out. I am working on the latest chapter and where I left off but this isn't it, just for clarification purposes one more time.**

 **Anyway enough blabbing, here it is.**

 **Irvine's personal info**

 **PROJECT Armor: Nightingale**

Being one of the few candidates for Demacia's Future Warrior project, Irvine has access to armor that utilizes a system called Shape Memory Alloy built into a wristwatch that digitizes a full set of high tech mail that goes over his regular attire. The armor is black in color with white lights that display from certain parts of the suit whether it be the arms, legs, chest, shoulders or the T shaped visor of his helm. The armor is imprinted with his own genetic makeup, meaning, he can move around in it as if he was unarmored and bare. It doesn't inhibit anything he does while adorning the tech. This however also works as a safeguard to any who'd try to steal the wristwatch for their own ends. While anyone can activate the watch with the right know how, any who aren't in tune with the watch will find themselves either weighed down to the point of immobilization, even if they are at peak physical condition and health or may suffer severe feedback in the form of deadly migraines, internal body damage and possibly death. Each suit is different with different kinds of safeguards in place to prevent theft.

Suits can grant additional abilities apart from the user's own arsenal whether it be speed, stealth, super strength or flight. Alongside Demacia, other corporations and provinces make use of suits so there are many abilities that are still left unknown. Irvine's particular suit can employ stealth as well as several other abilities that complement his subterfuge oriented nature. The Nightingale for all intents and purposes is a prototype and wasn't meant for the field. It was a gift to Irvine however and with the help of a colleague, he's been able to maintain it and bring out even further potential within the suit to the surprise of most of Demacia's engineers and scientists.

The Nightingale is unique in being the only armor capable of upgrading itself and learning new abilities that weren't meant or in mind with the original design. Whether this was intentional or an oversight from it's creators remains unknown.

Onimaru: Onimaru, The Demon Reaping Katana, a monkier that's been given to it because of the countless monstrous beings it's slain. It's a white colored beam katana of Irvine's own choice in design that's been tempered by pieces of his late foster brother, Rikimaru's sword, the Izayoi and the dread demonic sword Shichisto that once belonged to an Oni lord named Mei'Oh. It's still unknown to the young Shinobi whether mixing both pieces of the magical weapons will have some kind of consequence in the future, especially the Shichisto.

Quote from Ressai " While I don't know what kind of lasting effect that this will have on Onimaru, you'd do well to pay heed young Irvine. Your brother's sword and Mei'Oh's accursed blade derive from two entirely different magical natures. The two powers may clash or even worse try to overtake the other. I won't inquire as to why you wanted to forge a blade from such a weapon of sinister background, I trust you had good reason to and are prepared to handle any risks if they present themselves. I'm a blacksmith at the end of the day and work is work, no matter what type of work it may be... actually, I use that term loosely because there are exceptions hahahaha! You being one of them!"

Ressai watches as he slowly clicks the beam weapon back into it's sheathe. With a complacent grin, he bids him farewell.

"Well I won't keep you any longer but please do keep in mind about all that I've told you. Be one with the shadows young Azuma and may your blade always strike true."

Irvine humbly bows " Thanks Ressai, I'll be sure to handle him with kid's gloves"

 **Alex's personal info**

 **Onslaught Armor:**

A replica of the late king Varian Wrynn's Battleplate. It was made to honor his old friend and carry on his will to bring true peace to the world. While the armor doesn't grant the magical boons the original had, it more than makes up for this with it's own unique set of properties that grant the user a variety of defense based options. Being technological in nature, the armor has various automated systems that range from self repair to emergency first aid administration making this one of the few versatile heavy armors in Runeterra. The armor is a sun colored yellow that emits a radiance similar to the light the giant star gives off and a light brown pattern that runs along different sections of the armor, representing his Solar and Earth magic.

Garnering the same kind of fascination with custom made gear as Irvine, Alex had a helmet custom made to resemble a worgen's head. He aptly named the helmet the Assault Moran. The name derives from a worgen clan who were fierce warriors that never backed down from a battle, no matter the odds. Two blue glowing lens can be seen from where the eyes should be which are more than just pretty lights to look at. They can give off readings of weather conditions, grant the ability to see through objects as well as revealing the faint glimmer of cloaking tech or magic. The lens also adjusts for low light conditions to insure that nothing unsuspecting can get the jump on the operator. When not in use, the helmet retracts back into folds located near the neck region of the Onslaught Armor. I can't recall whether or not the pauldrons or legs had any specific functions but I do know that the wolf heads jutting out from both shoulders were made in remembrance of an old hound he use to have.

Shalamayne: Shalamayne, a legendary weapon of a bygone time and high elven make. Since it's creation, it's seen many battles and has had many wielders. Originally wielded by the high elf twins Vor'Illian and Lo'Vellian during the War of Ancients in the province of Azeroth, it was once two separate blades, Shalla'tor and Ellemayne. Unfortunately the two elves fell in battle and in a desperate attempt to keep their people from being wiped out and losing the war, several artificers fused the two blades into one, hoping to make the blade more powerful and grant it to a warrior capable of taking the places and continuing on where their two leaders had failed. They did manage to complete the process and find that warrior who still to this day is unknown. They eventually won the war but the warrior along with the blade disappeared after the storm had finally settled. After a period of time, the weapon was once again found and wielded by a famous human king by the name of Varian Wrynn. Varian was a capable combatant and most thought he would remain the true wielder of the fabled sword but he too would meet his end after the great Legion War that would threaten to engulf all of Azeroth and eventually the entire planet. It was intended for the blade to be passed on to the king's son Anduin but the young prince thought it'd be more fitting that it go to Varian's old and long time friend Alex. In Anduin's own words, he'd have wanted you to have it.

In appearance, Shalamayne is a greatsword with a unique narrow edge at the point and a thicker, angled edge further down. The hollow in the lower part of the blade glows like a sun. There is a backward arch at the bottom of the blade, and the hilt is long and slender. As a single entity, it doesn't have any known special traits other than it's unbreakable due to an enchantment. It also has the ability to split back into two and it's original state as the two swords Shalla'tor and Ellemayne. A proficient user is able to switch back and forth between the two on the fly, opening up a lot of opportunities in combat.

 **Dialogue between Anduin and Alex.**

Anduin turned the greatsword upside down so the metal was facing the ground and gently let the tip rest against the carpet in the palace that surrounded them. Alex on the other hand gave the young prince a analyzing stare, still trying to decipher what the flipping heck he was thinking?

Alex reached a metal gauntleted hand and let it rub against the back of his head. A nervous tick of his when he found himself at a stump of a situation. " Anduin... I can't accept this. You'd be a more fitting wielder for it." He said now looking Anduin in the eye. At this, Anduin smiled and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"No brother... I may have taken up my father's mantle as King of Stormwind but I do not believe that I am Shalamayne's proper owner and that she'd be wasted on me." With a grunt he hoisted the sword back up right and held it out to him expectantly. Alex eyed the weapon for a pregnant pause. Still hesitant to take it and unknowingly at Anduin's expense.

The lesser Wrynn brought him out of his brief inner monologue. " This is heavy you know..." He said with quivering hands. With a sigh, Alex took the sword from him and looking it over, lowering and raising it. It seemed to gleam from the small ball of energy located near the hollowed out part of the blade. With a skillful spin, he shifted the greatsword, one handed, behind his back and allowed the sheathing compartment of his armor to click the sword in place. Anduin watched on in silence before putting one finger up with an open mouth grin.

"Besides, my father said if he decided to be a stubborn bastard about it, to bring up that debt you owed him when you two played that game of cards!" He said catching the Worgen off guard.

"Gah!" Alex mouthed out. He had completely forgotten about that stupid bet and how he had lost horribly. Yeah, that sounded like Varian alright. It's how he usually cashed in on his deals. The more he thought about it, the more straight faced he went, with a sweat drop appearing on the left side of his head. "Alright, alright, I get it, yeesh." Alex said with a shrug. "Good to know that he didn't change much since I've been away."

Anduin let out a good natured laugh before becoming thoughtful, a sad smile gracing his lips and causing Alex to raise an eyebrow. "It was as if he knew things were going to transpire the way they did. That he knew he was going to die..." He said solemnly. This caused Alex to stare at the ground and clenching his left fist.

"Anduin I'm sorry... I, I should have been there! If I was then this all could have been avoided!" He said angrily, more at himself than anything. Anduin however put up a hand, stopping the young Worgen from saying anything else.

"No old friend, you had your own problems that you had to deal with in Runeterra and my father never held it against you and understood that, as well as I. Please don't blame yourself for any of this. He did what he thought was best and his sacrifice wasn't in vain. While there is still much to do he and the other great heroes have helped pave the way towards a better future for all of us." He said staring off into the sunrise before looking back at Alex. " That's why I have to ask you... will you help me continue on with my father's will to preserve the peace of not only our kingdom but anywhere that may need aid? Your grandfather Genn and yourself have been good friends of ours and steadfast allies for years and I hope we can continue depending on you?" He said offering a hand. Alex looked at the hand and him before closing his eyes and smirking before taking the hand in a strong grip.

"Spoken like a true king. Aye brother, you can count on me and the guild to always have your back, no matter the circumstance." With another pause, he shook his head. "No it's the least I can do for Varian. He's done a lot for me so it's appropriate that I return it in kind."

With that, the two men walked to the balcony shoulder to shoulder and watched the sunrise both having inner monologue with themselves. Anduin turned his head to look at the Worgen. _"Alex you may not realize this yourself but you and your compatriots will have a large role to play in the events that are sure to come to this world."_ He said to himself. Alex on the other hand didn't seem to notice he was being watched, deep in thought himself.

" _Varian, old friend, I don't know where you are right now in the great beyond... for all I know you could be in Sovrngarde chatting it up with some nord babes but I promise you, with this sword I'll see that your wish and will go untarnished and see to it that your dream comes to fruition... this I swear."_ A steel like glint flashed in his eyes as he and Alduin looked on. His best friend Irvine and himself as well as the others would indeed have a large role to play at how events unfolded in their mysterious world.

* * *

 **As stated this was something I wrote long ago when I was making up the story board for this. Along with the filler chapters, I'll probably insert one of these here and there, especially if I take a long hiatus to show I'm still kicking. Well, hope you guys enjoyed this, (those who still follow this anyway) and stick around for my latest chapter. Godspeed to your writing and reading, thanks.**

 **Giorgio~  
**


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